Revealed: SME opportunities in 2025

Centre for Entrepreneurial Research and Development lists small business opportunities available in Nigeria in 2025.

2025 offers so much promise for SMEs particularly for those who are not too satisfied with the result they are getting from their present endeavours.

For the Nigerian entrepreneur, the way the economy has been going since the present government came into power in July 2023 can be said to be a blessing in disguise. There are three reasons for this conclusion.

The first is that Naira fell to an all-time low. From a little less than N500 per dollar in January 2023, the naira is now trading for over N1700 per dollar. Second is the debt burden of the country. The domestic and external debt of government, as revealed by the Federal Government Debt Management Office, was about $99 billion as at June 2024. Third is the GDP, gross domestic product, a parameter used all over the world to measure how well a country is doing. Nigeria fell from its position of the largest economy in Africa in 2023 to the third largest now, behind Egypt and South Africa. Nigeria’s GDP stands at about $363 billion or less today.

The cheering news out of the dark situation painted above is this. Due to the fact that our currency crashed in over 3 multiples brought pain in terms of ballooning prices of goods, particularly imported goods or goods with any form of imported content. The gain to the Nigerian business person is that it made anything made in Nigeria so cheap relative to goods coming from outside. In plain language, if you are sending goods abroad, you have comparative advantage in terms of price. Your goods will be cheap and if you can combine good quality with good price, then you have good market.

The opportunities in the disabilities of Nigeria

1) The first opportunity is in manufacturing. This is the time for those who are looking for what to do in present day Nigeria. Manufacturing is where to go. Please don’t think of manufacturing as setting up a Dangote Cement Factory or Unilever Corn Flakes manufacturing concern. Manufacturing is another word for production. It is adding value to raw materials with the outcome of finished goods that satisfy certain needs of people. It starts with light manufacturing, where the processes involved are minimal and you are able to set up with so little capital. Don’t worry if you don’t have the wherewithal to buy equipment and hire factory staff. There are so many industrial concerns that do what we call contract manufacturing and will help you produce to your taste and all what you need to do thereafter is to go and sell. Where to sell to should not be too much of a problem either. We have earlier mentioned the fact that the export market is waiting for you, starting from countries within the West African coast (talking of Republic of Benin, Togo, Ghana, etc.). The exchange rate makes anything coming out of Nigeria very cheap in the eyes of outsiders. Just try it. In addition, we have a huge population to feed and the birth rate in Nigeria is not diminishing despite the economic concerns. There is hardly anything that is produced in Nigeria that is not sold, just ensure that you do your homework well. This is how to break into manufacturing from where you are and with what you have.

2). The second opportunity I will recommend for SMEs particularly the youth and people with digital skills is remote digital employment. India has profited immensely from opportunities that came up from remote work in the past 10 – 20 years. A major area is remote call centre business. This has enabled people from that country to develop high level proficiency in that business. Most organizations in the world today route their call centre activities through operators located in India. The people had to sit down to acquire the skills necessary to do the remote call centre business. The skills they acquired in this area did not only help them to master the remote call centre business, but also helped them to make inroads into other areas of the digital space. Today, India is a superpower in anything digital which includes app and software development, the most demanding of digital skills. Great opportunities have opened up for remote work for Nigerian entrepreneurs. It is a great attraction because the little money being paid by the clients who are mostly based abroad is very big in our own eyes due to our exchange rate. If we all flood this area, Nigerians will not only make money, but will be able to develop digital skills that will help in improving proficiency and competitiveness of Nigerian SMEs in information technology.

For those on the lookout for remote work opportunities, how should you go about it? You probably have a skill that people need. You know how to do something currently, for example you can teach mathematics or physics or chemistry. Or you can sew very well and teach other to do the same. Maybe you are good in food and nutrition that is, the kind of food people should eat to get the best nourishment and live healthy lives. All these skills are marketable online. People outside Nigeria are looking for these services and if they can be offered across the digital platform then you are in business.

For those who want to book appointments to discuss the ideas they have to take advantage of these opportunities please call 08023203198 or send a WhatsApp message.

.Owolabi, (FIMC) Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Management Consultants is the Executive Director of Centre of Entrepreneurial Research and Development based in Igbesa, a surburb of greater Lagos, in the vicinity of Crawford University. The organisation has had the opportunity to execute landmark business development (business plan preparation and conduct of feasibility studies) and market research briefs for organizations both within and outside Nigeria. He can be reached by phone or WhatsApp through 08023203198.