It’s not news that starting ecommerce business in Nigeria is one of the fastest and smartest ways to gain wealth. Specifically in this 21st century.
As our country is approaching 200million individuals and over 80million are internet users which is the main reason for e-commerce success in Nigeria.
They are alot of eCommerce business owners in Nigeria earning over #1million in sales profit with their business.
The term “e-commerce business” doesn’t necessarily mean you have a website like Konga and Jumia.
Thinking like this make you believe you need a lot of capital in other to run it. But, note that you can start small and grow big.
Before we continue on our learning on how to start eCommerce business in Nigeria, first let’s understand the concepts of e-commerce business in Nigeria.
What is E-commerce & How does it work?
E-commerce is simply a buying and selling goods and services that takes place on the internet.
E-commerce is divided into 6 which includes:
1. Business –to – business (B2B): This is the exchange of goods and services between 2 businesses instead of business and consumer.
2. Business – to – consumer (B2C): This is the selling of goods and services from a business to the consumer.
3. Consumer – to – consumer (C2C): this kind of eCommerce business in when consumers exchange goods and services between each other online.
4. Consumer – to – Business (C2B): this type of eCommerce business is when individuals render service or sell goods to a company over the internet e.g. article writer or website designer.
5. Business – to – Administration (B2A): this is the business transaction between companies and governments. Eg private companies providing services for an administrative government.
6. Consumer – to – Administration (C2A): A transaction between public and individual administration.
As stated above, you don’t have to run a big platform like Konga or Jumia to be able to start ecommerce business in Nigeria.
Now, check out the list of business ideas that can do as an eCommerce business in Nigeria.
- Wedding Planner
- Corporate Event planner
- Cake Baking
- Makeup Artist
- Homemade Goods Seller
- Fashion Designer
- Mini importation
- Product Retailer
- Social Media Manager
- Catering Service
- Public Speaker Coach
- CV Writer
- Photography
- Dating Coach
- Relationship Coach
- Investment Advisor
- Natural & Organic Beauty Shop
- Business Consultant
What makes a business an eCom business is the ability carry-out business transaction online!
Getting a small business website built around the above ideas is ok! So far your site is integrated with a payment gateway that can receive payment from the customer.
How to start eCommerce Business in Nigeria with 7 Simple Steps
So, we are going to look into various means on start eCommerce business, including things to do in other to have a successful business in Nigeria.
1st Step: Secure Your Business Name with CAC
First, you need to decide on what to sell. Immediately you have decided on things to sell or services to render. Next is to choose a good and easy to remember the business name, that no one is using.
Once you’re done with that, next is to conduct a Corporate Affairs commission (CAC) search, to check for availability. If, the name is available, you will need to register it immediately.
Name searching/submit on CAC website is usually round 500 naira. But In case the name you summited, isn’t available you will need to pay for another #500 to search and submit another name.
So, when searching, it is important to come up with a good and unique name. Ensure this name isn’t similar to any branded company already.
Once your selected name is reserved, you can go on with the actual fee and then complete the registration. Most time, it’s around #10,000 depends on your type of business.
2nd Step: Secure Your Domain Name online and building your Ecommerce website
It is always important to have a website for your business, which will take your business to a greater height. You first need to choose a domain name for your business.
Next, is to check if the domain name you choose is still available using NameCheap.com. That is, the domain name you have in mind for your Store.
Furthermore, you may select between “.com” “.co””.net” “.ng” “.com.ng”
Once your picked domain is available, buying it immediately might be a better decision. It cost less than #4,000 to have a domain.
This way, later, you can build your website whenever you are ready to do so since you have secured your domain name.
However, if you are ready to create your e-commerce website right away: We can do that for you. It takes just 7 days to get one. Kindly, check out our portfolio
3rd Step: Draft Your Business Plan
Depending on the type of business, a solid and good business plan will always be useful. Mostly for those that will be selling physical products.
With this, you having a ready-made masterpiece on the direction to take.
4th Step: Stock Inventory
Since, Your website is ready. Next thing to do, is to make your product available to people.
Mini Importation has been one the fastest and popular way to get started with e-commerce business in Nigeria especially those who are into selling of physical products.
And for this to work, if you are starting big then I recommend getting a store/warehouse to stock your product inventory.
If you don’t have money for that, you can start by stocking products in your house.
So for now, your home should be your office and warehouse, you don’t need to pay for extra office space because no one will come to buy your product in person instead they will do that online.
5th Step: Partner with a Logistic Company
Once your products are ready and before you start advertising these products. You should first of all partner with 1 or 2 logistic companies that will help with the mobility of your products.
one of the great advantages of eCommerce business is that you are not restricted to one location like the traditional business. You should be able to sell to anywhere in the country.
Please be reminded, this will be possible with the help of a dependable Delivery company. They will do the delivery of the products and at once help you collect cash from your buyers. This occurs if only you are doing cash on a delivery system.
Here are some logistics company to start with.
- Gig Logistic
- Courier plus service limited (Nationwide)
- Austin Dispatch (Lagos only)
- SkyNet (Nationwide)
6th Step: Advertise Your Business
Advertising your business helps you to take your business to the next level. The truth is nobody will know about your business except you take it to them through advertisement.
The budget for adverts will depend on how deep your pocket is. Spending much on adverts does not mean it going to convert to sell. You only have to know what is working and search for a way to replicate it.
Before you commence your business advertisement, first you need to do deep research on how to run ads on a different social platform. And it will also protect you against wasting money on ads that don’t convert.
Below are some examples of ad platform you can use to advertise your e-commerce business:
Google ads
Facebook ads
Native Ads
Social media influencers
Local Newspaper
If you can effectively build you fan base on this platform, it is going to be a greater turn around for your ecommerce business.
Pros of Starting an E-commerce Business in Nigeria
Benefits of starting eCommerce business in Nigeria and how you can also benefit from it:
GLOBAL AUDIENCE
Starting an eCommerce business allows you to sell across the whole nation without geographical limitations.
GET CLOSER TO CUSTOMERS
This business allows you to get closer to your customers. Which will lead to an increased sales
REDUCED COST OF OPERATION
Because you can start from home, and don’t necessarily need to pay for an office or rent a shop or warehouse. It saves you money compared to when running the traditional business.
Challenges of e-commerce in Nigeria
LOGISTIC ISSUES
Not every places are fully accessible within Nigeria, especially rural areas. Which create set back to reach wider audience.
ONLINE PAYMENTS
In Nigeria, many people prefer paying for products on delivery instead of paying online because there’s still no trust for the online transaction.
PRODUCT RETURNS
Most eCommerce start-up will experience as a result of payment on delivery.
Conclusion
Is not just about creating beautiful website. This alone won’t give you success. You have to take into consideration the kind of services or products that your business wants to offers. Else you might not succeed.
There you have it on how to start eCommerce business in Nigeria! Let me know what you think about this in the comment section below.
