Losing money while trying to make more money is a particularly painful experience, and unfortunately one that many people can relate to.
From prematurely selling stocks out of panic to Ponzi schemes and questionable land deals, these six Nigerians share their worst investment mistakes, how much they lost and the lessons they learnt along the way.
“I invested in a popular stock, then panic-sold when it dropped.”
— Tobi*, 29, M. Lost ₦280,000 in stocks
Sometime in 2025, I decided to do something with my savings rather than leave everything in my account. A few friends were making money from stocks, so I decided to try it too. I bought shares worth ₦500k in a company because people were talking about how well it was performing.
Initially, things looked good. The stock value rose in the first few months, and I was already considering investing more. Then, the price started dropping. I didn’t understand why, and I didn’t know whether it was a temporary dip or something more serious. I got scared and sold my shares at ₦220k. It was a loss of ₦280k, but I figured it was better than losing everything.
It turned out I had panicked for no reason because the stock later recovered. If I had researched the company properly or understood what I was buying, I would have been better prepared to stay for the long haul.
I didn’t swear off stocks, though. The problem was how I approached it, not the investment itself. Now, I research companies, diversify my investments, and don’t put money into the stock market that I might need next month. I also understand that prices can fluctuate, and not every dip is a reason to sell.
“I trusted a friend and unknowingly invested in a Ponzi scheme.”
— Chinwe*, 32, F. Lost ₦500,000 to a Ponzi scheme
In 2023, a friend told me about an investment platform that promised returns of 20% every month. They claimed to make money from agricultural exports and had a Telegram group where they shared pictures of farms and warehouses.
The first month, my friend and I invested ₦100,000 each and got our returns. My friend decided to stop there, but I reinvested the money and added another ₦400,000 over the next three months.
Then, one morning, I tried to withdraw my money and couldn’t. Their customer service stopped responding, and people on the Telegram group started panicking. That’s when I realised I’d lost everything.
I was embarrassed because I’d survived the MMM wave only to lose my money to an obvious scam. Now, I don’t invest in anything I can’t properly explain. I check who is behind a company, whether it’s regulated where necessary and whether its promised returns make sense.
“I invested all my savings into a business partnership and left zero safety net for eventualities”
— David*, 31, M. Lost ₦1.2 million in a business investment
In 2020, my friend and I decided to invest in a mini-importation business. He already had experience buying products from China, and I thought partnering with him would be a good way to make extra money.
I put in ₦1.2 million, which was all my savings. My friend was to handle sourcing and logistics, while marketing and sales were my responsibility. Unfortunately, the COVID lockdown happened, and the first shipment was delayed for months. When it eventually came, many of the products had rusted in storage, and some weren’t what we’d ordered.
We managed to sell a little stock, but what we made wasn’t enough to cover our expenses. We had to close the business and accept the loss. I even went into ₦3 million in debt due to shipment storage fees that took me years to settle.
Things going wrong wasn’t exactly our fault, but my biggest mistake was investing everything I had without considering what would happen if the business failed. I should have also kept emergency savings separate for eventualities.
“I invested in land. Now I’m fighting to prove that it’s actually mine.”
— Risi*, 35, F. Lost ₦2.5 million in a land deal
In 2022, I received a ₦3 million windfall from a business deal and decided to buy land. A friend of a friend introduced me to someone selling plots outside Lagos at what seemed like a very good price, so I jumped at it.
The agent showed me pictures and took me to the site. Everything looked official enough, so I paid ₦2.5 million for a plot. I thought I’d made a smart decision by buying land before the area became expensive.
Months later, I visited the property, and that’s when the problem started. I saw some people constructing a fence around it, and when I asked, they claimed there was a different owner. I called the agent, but he kept giving excuses about a supposed dispute on the land. Eventually, he stopped answering my calls and disappeared.
I’ve spent more money trying to establish ownership of that land. At this point, I don’t even know when or whether I’ll recover my investment. I should’ve gotten a lawyer involved from the beginning and conducted my own findings before paying anyone.
“I gave someone money to trade crypto for me because I didn’t have the time to learn.”
— Amaka*, 27, F. Lost ₦350,000 in a crypto trading arrangement
I had a colleague at my former workplace who was always posting screenshots of his crypto trades and profits.
I didn’t really understand trading and wasn’t particularly interested in learning, but I wanted to make extra money. So I approached him, and we agreed that I’d give him money to help me trade in exchange for a percentage of whatever he made at the end of the month.
I gave him ₦350k, and he gave me steady updates for the first two weeks. Then he started giving excuses about the trade not doing well. Month end came, and I told him to at least return my capital if there was no profit. He said it wasn’t that straightforward.
The whole thing led to a big issue, and our company’s HR got involved. The guy was fired, and HR had to issue a memo prohibiting staff from doing business with one another. I never got my money back. Now, if I’m interested in an investment, I prefer to understand it myself at my own pace.
“I bought shares that I’m now unable to sell”
— Kelechi*, 30, M. Had ₦600,000 tied up in illiquid stocks
I started investing in stocks at the beginning of the year, and my approach was simply to look for companies with cheap stock prices. I figured those had a higher probability of making me more money when people “discovered” them and started buying too. I’m not sure why I was applying a crypto mindset to stocks, to be honest.
Anyway, I put in ₦600k in a particular company. I planned to leave it for at least a year, but something came up a few months ago, and I urgently needed cash, so I tried to sell the stocks. It took me weeks to find buyers. While searching, I did some research and discovered the stocks were actually illiquid. There weren’t enough buyers interested in the shares, so even though I could see the value of my holdings on my dashboard, I couldn’t easily convert them to cash. I eventually managed to sell only half of my portfolio.
I’m just going to classify this as a lesson learned and move on. I still plan to invest in stocks, though. I’ve spoken to some finance friends and learnt how to determine healthy stocks to grow my money. I also recently started using and following Hisa, and I feel well prepared to make meaningful investment choices.
The takeaway:
Everyone wants their money to grow, but making smart investment decisions means looking beyond the promise of quick returns. Whether you’re considering stocks or property, it’s important to understand what you’re investing in and how easily you can access your money when you need it. Beyond making extra money, the goal is to build wealth with decisions you understand.
Hisa lets you buy and sell Nigerian and US stocks straight from your phone, all in one app. And with Hisa’s zero-commission campaign, new users who sign up before the end of 2026 can trade in both markets without paying trading commissions during the promotion. Ready to own a piece of the companies you know?
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*Names have been changed for anonymity.
