There’s a lot of “ways to make money” blog posts out there. But the problem is, most of them assume you live in a country where PayPal works, your electricity is stable, and $10 per month is pocket change.
Seriously, how are you supposed to make any of those western options work with NEPA wahala, unstable network and limited capital?
That’s exactly why I took time out to ask actual Nigerians how they’re stacking up the bag. I rounded these up into 55 of the best ways to make money in Nigeria whether that’s online, offline, from home, as a student, and everything in between. So in this post, you’ll find amazing ideas that work no matter your niche.
How to Make Money Online in Nigeria
There’s a lot of scammy noise out there when it comes to making money online. And it’s easy for you to get discouraged or fall for the wrong thing. But the truth is, there are legit ways to make money online in Nigeria, and here, I’ve listed some of those.
1. Faceless Video Channels
Faceless video content is exploding as a way to make money online. Think animations, listicles with voiceovers, or news-style recaps. In Nigeria, this method works well for niches like relationship advice, finance or beauty tips. You can monetize with ads, affiliate links or sponsored mentions.
Income Potential: Potential earnings could be up to 2million/month from ads alone. Add affiliate links, and it increases. But early income depends heavily on consistency and engagement, not just uploads.
2. Digital Collectibles for Afro Artists
NFTs may have cooled off globally, but there’s still a strong market for digital collectibles focused on African music, culture, and art, especially among buyers in the diaspora. Platforms like Sound.xyz and Zora.co let creators mint your works and sell them directly to collectors. You don’t need to be a crypto expert, just collaborate with a dev or use no-code minting tools.
Income Potential: Early-stage artists may earn $50–$500 per drop, while top creators can earn over $5k.
3. Build a Niche Snapchat Page and Monetize via Spotlight Ads
Snapchat’s spotlight feature pays you for short-form, viral content that appears on the app’s explore page. If you build a niche page and get enough traction, Snapchat pays you based on engagement. This is a way to make money online that is still underrated in Nigeria but has huge potential, especially if you can post consistently and tap into local trends.
Income Potential: If eligible, you could make up to $1,500/month+ from viral posts.
4. Create a Niche Blog
Another way to make money online is through blogging. And hey, it isn’t dead, it’s just evolved. The trick is consistency, keyword research, and monetizing early. You can earn through ad networks, affiliate links, or even digital product sales.
Income Potential: Small blogs with decent SEO can make ₦50k–₦500k/month. Bigger niche blogs can cross ₦10m/year.
5. CV & LinkedIn Optimization Service
If you’ve ever gotten compliments on your CV or you know how to speak “corporate language,” that’s a solid way to make money online. Helping Nigerians fix their CVs and LinkedIn profiles is one of the most overlooked online services. This has a high demand, especially among jobseekers and you can work anonymously from anywhere.
Income Potential: With 10–20 clients a month, you can earn ₦100k–₦500k/month. Add LinkedIn profile rewrites and cover letter bundles, and your income could hit ₦1m/month.
6. Remote Bookkeeping and Accounting
Small businesses, both abroad and in Nigeria, often need help with managing invoices, tracking expenses, and preparing simple financial reports. If you understand Excel or basic accounting, this is a way to make money online. Take these free online courses to help you skill up.
Income Potential: Bookkeepers earn $200–$800/month per client depending on workload. A beginner with just two solid clients could make ₦1.5m–₦3m/year.
7. Video Editing
Recently, there’s been an increase in Nigerian vloggers, wedding vendors, and Instagram content creators, so video editing is now in high demand. You don’t have to be a cinematographer to make money from video editing. Most creators are looking for basic editors to clean up clips, add subtitles and apply transitions or music.
Income potential: Freelancers in Nigeria charge ₦5k–₦20k per simple project, or ₦50k+ for weddings. A decent editor with regular clients could make up to ₦2.5m/year or more.
8. Remote Customer Service Jobs
These are virtual support jobs where you help customers via email, chat, or calls, often for fintech, SaaS, or e-commerce brands.
Income Potential: ₦800k–3.5m/year depending on hours and currency paid.
9. Voice-Over Acting
If you have a clear voice, good pronunciation, and basic recording tools (even a quiet room + phone), you can get paid to read scripts for explainer videos, TikToks, podcast intros, radio ads, or online courses. Voice-over is a low-barrier way to make money online, and many Nigerians do it with just their phone and a quiet room.
Income Potential: ₦3k–₦15k per voiceover. With consistency and reach, you can hit ₦500k–₦2m/year.
ALSO READ: How Did She Hit Important Financial Milestones At 22? Voice Acting
10. Tech Freelancing
So you know how to build websites, automate tasks, or write clean code? Tech freelancing is one of the highest-paying online jobs in Nigeria right now. Thousands of Nigerian developers now earn in dollars without ever stepping into an office.
Income Potential: ₦2m–₦20m/year. Top freelancers charge $50/hour and up.
ALSO READ: The #NairaLife of a Lawyer Aiming for $100K a Year Through Tech
11. Forex Trading
Forex trading: buying and selling currencies, is a popular way to make money online in Nigeria, but it’s not a quick-money hack. Without real training, it’s just online gambling. Never trade with money you can’t afford to lose.
Income Potential: Some disciplined traders report over ₦10m/year in profit after 6–12 months of consistent learning. Many others lose it all.
ALSO READ: I Make Up to ₦700,000/Week Trading Gold in the Forex Market
12. Crypto Staking, Airdrops, or Trading
Crypto isn’t just buying and holding anymore. You can now earn passively through staking or by participating in airdrops.
Income Potential:
Staking stablecoins: ~5–15% APR.
Airdrops: ₦30k–₦500k per project if you get lucky.
Crypto trading: Totally dependent on the market, you can lose or 10x.
13. Remote Customer Onboarding for Tech Startups
Startups, especially SaaS companies, need people who can walk new customers through setup, dashboards, and usage. Most onboarding jobs are remote and dollar-paying. And if you’re comfortable using remote work tools, it’s a cool way to make money online.
Income Potential: Entry roles: $300–$1,000/month. Full-time onboarding specialists: $12k/year and above (₦10m+)
14. Dropservicing
Dropservicing is like reselling. You market a service, say logo design, then outsource the actual work to someone else. You keep the profit margin. You don’t need to deliver the service
15. Sell Pictures on Stock Websites
If you take original, unique photos of everyday Nigerian life, a way to make money online is by selling them as stock images on the internet. Platforms like Shutterstock and iStock accept contributors from Nigeria and yes, you get paid when someone downloads your photo.
Income Potential: ₦20k–₦500k/year for casual contributors. ₦1m+ if you consistently upload high-demand images.
Join 1,000+ Nigerians at The Naira Life Con by Zikoko for a day of real, raw conversations about money and financial freedom. Click here to buy an early bird ticket!
How to Make Money Online for Beginners
If you’re completely new to this, don’t worry. These are easy, beginner-approved ways to make money online that don’t require expertise or years of experience.
1. VTU Business
VTU business is another overlooked but reliable way to make money online for Nigerians. You buy data or airtime bundles in bulk from VTU platforms and then resell in smaller bits to people around you. This hustle has steady daily sales and doesn’t require an office. Only con is margins are small, so you need volume
Income potential: Most VTU resellers earn ₦20–₦100 per transaction. If you have 30–100 regular daily users, that’s ₦30k–₦100k/month with minimal risk.
2. Run a TikTok Hookwriting Gig
Every viral TikTok video starts with a hook, that first 1–3 seconds that grabs attention. If you understand how Nigerian audiences think and what makes people stop scrolling, this is a niche service you can offer to creators, marketers, and business owners. It’s very low competition and doesn’t take much time once you get the hang of it.
Income potential: ₦10k–₦100k/month depending on the number of clients. Some creators pay ₦5k–₦20k per batch of hooks.
ALSO READ: All the Ways to Make Money on TikTok in Nigeria
3. Lemonade Finance Referral Income
Got friends or followers abroad? Lemonade Finance lets you earn when you refer users who send money to Nigeria.
Income potential: ₦500–₦5,000 per referred user, depending on promo. Top referrers earn ₦100k–₦300k/month consistently. Always check Lemonade Finance Referral Page for updates.
4. Academic Proofreading & Formatting
If you’re detail-oriented and know how to use Microsoft Word, this is a great way to make money online. Nigerian students, researchers, and even PhD candidates home and abroad need help fixing grammar, spacing, citations and structure before submitting their work.
Income potential: ₦5k–₦15k per document depending on word count. Consistent freelancers earn ₦200k–₦800k/year.
ALSO READ: The Academic Researcher Nursing Dreams of a Career in Comedy
5. WhatsApp TV/Status Marketing
This is more than just posting memes. With WhatsApp TV, you create a status account that shares popular content. You build a group of followers who enjoy the content you post, and then you can earn money by featuring paid advertisements or promotional posts on your status.
Income potential: ₦50k–₦150k/month if you post daily and sell ads regularly. Top TV owners earn ₦500k+ with bulk bookings.
ALSO READ: How to Make Money on WhatsApp in Nigeria
6. Run a DMs-for-Hire Service
Some Nigerian influencers, stylists and vendors are too busy to reply to all their DMs. You can offer to manage their Instagram or Twitter inbox, track order inquiries, or even respond to basic messages. It’s not customer service, it’s just being their digital PA.
Income potential: ₦30k–₦150k/month per client. Handle more pages and you’re earning full-time income from home.
7. Online Tutoring
Smarty pants? You can use it as a way to make money online by tutoring in English, Biology, Yoruba, IELTS prep, WAEC crash courses, and even how to use Microsoft Excel. The key is to position yourself clearly: “I help secondary school students pass WAEC Chemistry” is better than “I teach Chemistry.”
Income potential: ₦5k–15k/hour. A committed tutor can earn ₦500k–₦2m/year.
ALSO READ: 6 Online Platforms That Pay Nigerians to Train AI
8. Twitter Ghostwriting
Not everyone who has a Twitter account knows how to write engaging content, especially thought leaders, CEOs, or tech bros trying to go viral. You can charge to write threads, hooks, or weekly tweet packs for them behind the scenes.
Income potential: ₦20k–₦100k/month per client.
9. Page Flipping
Page flipping means growing a niche social media account and selling it to a small business or vendor in that space. Some people run anonymous accounts to 2k–10k followers, then list them for up to ₦200k depending on engagement.
Income potential: ₦50k–₦200k per flipped page. Run 3–4 successfully and you’re hitting ₦500k–₦1m/year.
10. Create WhatsApp Job Boards
This is one of the smartest ways to make money online for free. You curate daily or weekly job openings (remote, tech, government, etc.) and share in a private WhatsApp group. Members pay a small monthly fee (₦3,000–₦5,000) for access.
Income potential: ₦20k–₦200k/month depending on group size. A 300-member group at ₦3,000 each = ₦900k/month.
ALSO READ: How to Make Money Online in Nigeria With Insights From Naira Life Stories
Ways to Make Money From Home
Being in the comfort of your home and stacking up your account is one of the best feelings ever. Ever thought of ways to make money from home? Doesn’t matter if you want side hustles or full-time cash from your living room, these ideas will show you what’s possible.
1. Catering & Meal Delivery
If you can cook well and manage portions, catering is one of the most profitable ways to make money from home in Nigeria. You don’t need a restaurant. Just take bulk orders for offices, birthdays, or Sunday family meals and deliver them in bowls or takeout packs. Cash flow starts almost immediately.
Income potential: ₦15k–60k per day depending on order size. Consistent caterers earn ₦500k–₦2m/month.
ALSO READ: Foodies and Aspiring Chefs, Are You Sleeping on This Income Opportunity?
2. Uber/Bolt Driving
This might not feel like a “way to make money from home” hustle, but many Uber or Bolt drivers start and end their day from home, using it as their business HQ. If you have a car and can meet app requirements, you can register and begin earning immediately. And if you don’t want to drive, you can lease your car to a trusted driver and collect weekly returns from your house.
Income potential: ₦5k–₦20k/day after expenses. Car owners who lease to drivers can earn ₦50k–₦150k/week passively.
3. Tailoring or Sewing
Tailoring is still one of the most respected ways to make money from home in Nigeria. You can specialize in ready-to-wear, occasion wear, children’s clothes, or casual styling.
Income potential: Busy tailors earn ₦200k–₦800k/month, especially during December and wedding season.
4. Interior Decoration Services
You don’t need a showroom to start decorating rooms. You can begin by offering consultations, creating moodboards, or assembling budget-friendly makeovers for clients using local materials. Market on Instagram with before/after photos or work with real estate agents for small gigs.
Income potential: ₦30k–₦150k per room makeover. Consistent decorators earn ₦500k–₦2m/month.
5. Renting Out a Room on Airbnb or Short Let Platforms
A way to make money from home with a spare room is by listing it on Airbnb, Booking.com, and the likes. Travelers, remote workers, and diaspora visitors are always looking for clean, safe and affordable homes. Even if you can’t list on Airbnb, you can market via WhatsApp, local travel agents, or travel groups.
6. Poultry or Fish Farming
With a small backyard or extra compound space, you can raise chickens or catfish as a home-based agro hustle. Start with a few birds or fingerlings and expand as demand grows. This works especially well in places where people still buy meat or fish in bulk, or for reselling to shops or eateries.
Income potential:₦50k–₦300k per cycle. Full-time backyard farmers earn ₦500k–₦2m/year.
7. Drone Photography
If you already own a drone or can afford one , drone photography is a cool way to make money from home. You don’t need a studio, just pitch yourself to event planners, landowners, and real estate agents. Operate your business from home, go out only to shoot, and do post-editing and client delivery from your laptop.
Income potential: ₦50k–₦200k per event. Real estate gigs fetch ₦80k–₦300k depending on the land size and edits.
8. Hairdressing or Barbing at Home
From wig revamps to home braiding to men’s haircuts, turning your home into a mini salon is a tried-and-true hustle. If you’re already skilled or can learn fast, start with friends and neighbors, then scale via referrals or Instagram.
ALSO READ: I’m Too Focused On My Salon To Date
9. Laundry & Ironing Service
If you’re organized, you can offer laundry services from your home. Many people, especially bachelors, working mums, or busy professionals are happy to pay someone to wash, dry, and iron their clothes.
Income potential: ₦1,000–₦3,000 per load. Full-time operators earn ₦300k–₦900k/month with steady demand.
10. Children’s Daycare or Creche
If you love children and have space at home, starting a creche or babysitting service can be a fulfilling way to make money from home. Target working-class families or student parents in your area who need someone trustworthy to watch their kids during the day.
Income potential: ₦10k–₦50k per child monthly. Home creche providers with 5–10 kids can earn ₦300k–₦1m/month.
11. Mini Frozen Food Business
Frozen food is a staple in Nigerian homes, especially in cities where people don’t always have time to visit the market daily. You can run a small frozen food business from your freezer at home by selling items like frozen chicken, turkey, fish, snails, and prawns.
Income potential: ₦10k–₦100k profit margin per week. Regular sellers earn ₦400k–₦1.5m/year.
ALSO READ: I Built a Multi-Million Naira Food Business. Now Everyone Thinks It’s Their Money Too
12. Homemade Snacks
If you can fry, bake, or roast, you can sell Nigerian snacks from home. Chin chin, puff puff, buns, plantain chips, coconut candy….name it. These are loved by students, workers, and kids alike. You can sell in bulk to schools or offices, or retail in plastic cups/transparent bags.
Income potential: ₦5k–₦30k weekly. Side hustlers earn ₦200k–₦800k/year, especially during festive periods.
ALSO READ: I Almost Gave Up on My Dream of Going to Culinary School
13. Selling Clothes
You don’t need a boutique to sell clothes. Buy in small bales or handpicked pieces from larger thrift shoppers, clean them up, and resell to friends, colleagues, or online shoppers.
Tip: Curate niche boxes like “₦1,000 tops” or “corporate wear for ladies” and use WhatsApp, Facebook or Instagram to push sales.
Income potential: Hustlers earn ₦200k–₦1m+/month.
ALSO READ: How I Made ₦586 Million From Selling Clothes in 2024
14. Beauty Services From Home
Offer makeup, facials, nail fixing, or even simple massage services from your house. With good word-of-mouth or promo deals, you’ll start seeing steady bookings from neighbors or colleagues.
Income potential: Monthly earnings can hit ₦200k–₦1m for full-service providers.
ALSO READ: The Lash Technician Who Isn’t Looking for a 9-5
15. Create and Sell Colouring Books
You can design simple Nigerian-themed colouring books for kids (animals, fruits, folktales) using tools like Canva. Sell printable versions via Selar or WhatsApp. Great for teachers, artists, or parents with some design skills.
Income potential: ₦1k–₦5k per copy. Yearly income depends on marketing, but niche sellers make ₦100k–₦700k/year.
Ways to Make Money Offline
Not everyone wants to work online. And frankly, not everyone needs to. If you’re the type who prefers working with your hands, talking to real people, or just want something that doesn’t involve your phone 24/7, try one of these ways to make money offline. They’re mostly service-based, and many of them don’t even need a digital presence to take off.
1. Kiddies Party Chair Rentals
If you’ve ever been to a children’s party, you know those colorful, cartoon-themed chairs, mats, and tiny canopies steal the show. That’s the business. With ₦150k–₦300k, you can buy a few sets and start renting them out for birthday parties, school fun days, or holiday hangouts.
Income potential: ₦10k–₦50k per gig. Regular rentals bring in ₦400k–₦1.5m/year.
2. Corporate Training Facilitation
Companies in Nigeria regularly hire outsiders to run soft skills, tech, or leadership training for staff. If you’re good at teaching or have expertise in anything from Excel to customer service, pitch your service to HR teams.
Income potential: ₦50k–₦200k per session. Active facilitators earn ₦1m–₦5m/year.
3. Event Decoration or Planning
When it comes to celebrations, Naija no dey carry last. Hence, a good way to make money offline with event decorations. Event decoration is a visual, high-demand service that doesn’t need a physical office. You can start with birthday gigs and scale to big weddings over time.
Income potential: ₦30k–₦300k per event. Busy decorators make ₦2m–₦10m/year.
4. Home Repair Services
Skilled with your hands? Home repair services are always in demand: whether that’s fixing leaking taps to wiring sockets. Specialize in one area and brand yourself as the go-to expert in your neighborhood.
Income potential: ₦5k–₦30k per job. Pros make ₦600k–₦3m/year.
ALSO READ: The NairaLife of the Electrician With Bigger Dreams Than His Small Shop
5. Fitness Coaching or Personal Training
You don’t need a gym to be a personal trainer. Offer home fitness sessions or morning workout groups in estates or parks. Create simple routines and charge clients weekly or monthly and you’ve found a way to make money offline.
Income potential: ₦5k–₦20k per client/month. Fit coaches earn ₦300k–₦2m/year.
ALSO READ: “Personal Trainers Are Not Magicians” — A Week in the Life of a Fitness Coach
6. Private Security Services
If you have a background in security, military, or law enforcement or know trustworthy people, congrats, you’ve found a way to make money offline. You can start a private security company or offer guards to estates, events, or schools.
Income potential: ₦50k–₦100k per guard/month. Small firms earn ₦1m–₦10m+/year.
7. Engraving Services (Wood, Metal, Glass)
Custom engraving for weddings, gifts, plaques, perfume bottles, and more is one of the unique ways to make money offline. All you need is a simple engraving tool and a few samples to get started. You can offer personalized engraving services for various occasions.
Income potential: ₦3k–₦30k per item. ₦500k–₦2m/year
8. Decorative Plant Resale + Maintenance
Resell small indoor plants for homes/offices, and offer monthly maintenance visits (watering, trimming, replacing dead ones). It’s a trending niche and low stock required
Income potential: ₦1k–₦10k per plant + ₦3k–₦10k/month/client. ₦400k–₦2m/year
9. Custom Uniform & ID Production
Offering to produce matching polos, aprons, or vests for small businesses is a fantastic way to make money offline. You can also bundle these with branded caps or laminated IDs to offer a complete branding package.
Income potential: ₦15k–₦300k per order. ₦1m–₦5m/year depending on scale
Bonus:
Ways for Females to Make Money
Let’s talk to the girlies for a second. If you’ve been searching for ways for females to make money online in Nigeria, this section has your name written all over it.
Whether you’re in school, raising kids, working a 9–5, or just looking for financial freedom on your own terms, there are online income streams designed with you in mind. The point is, you have unique options.
1. Sell Postpartum Care Kits
Create thoughtful kits for new mums who’ve just given birth. These can include hot water bottles, belly wraps, agbo mix, shea balm, nipple balm, and healing bath herbs. There’s a growing market for maternal care and you can easily personalize and brand.
Best for: Women with knowledge of postpartum recovery or mothers themselves
Income potential: ₦5k–₦25k per kit. With 20 sales/month, earn ₦1.2m–₦6m/year
ALSO READ: 5 Nigerian Women Talk About Making Money Online
2. Curate “First Period Boxes” for Young Girls
This business taps into the growing need for shame-free period education. A “First Period Box” could include sanitary pads, wipes, deodorant, comfy underwear, a cute note or mini journal, and even period-proof shorts.
Income potential: ₦6k–₦20k per box. With 15 orders/month, earn ₦1m–₦3.6m/year
3. Sell Sex Toys Online
Sex toys are no longer taboo, and the demand is growing quietly but steadily in Nigeria, especially among women in their 20s and 30s. The trick is knowing how to sell them discreetly because most clients love privacy.
Income potential: ₦200k–₦3m/year depending on consistency and range of products
ALSO READ: The Business Owner Who Struck Gold Selling Sex Toys
Ways for Males to Make Money
Let’s be honest, the hustle is real, and being a guy in Nigeria comes with financial pressure. Here are some of the most realistic and profitable ways for males to make money online in Nigeria.
1. Sell Gaming Accessories or Console Rentals
This one works especially well in student environments or estates. Rent out your PS5 or sell pad controllers, gaming chairs, and headsets. You can also host weekend tournaments and charge an entry fee.
Income potential: ₦1,000/session (gaming) or ₦10k–₦100k/month selling accessories
2. Create Localised Men’s Style Content on TikTok
From how to wear certain fits to where to get good native shoes, you can build an audience by solving real problems men have with fashion. Monetize through brand deals, styling consults, or paid Telegram groups.
Income potential: ₦500k–₦2m+/year through brand deals, tips, and shoutouts
ALSO READ: 70 of the Latest Senator Designs for Men That Are Straight Fire
3. Become a Plug for Exportable Men’s Products
Start small, become the guy who helps people source things like Ankara men’s wear, palm sandals, or handmade wallets to export overseas. Link up with diaspora buyers via Facebook or WhatsApp groups.
Income potential: ₦5k–₦30k per item/export deal
That’s a Wrap!
There’s sooo many ways to make money in Nigeria and this article has shown you the top 55 ways to make money as a Nigerian. With a little creativity, effort, and determination, you can start earning in no time. The key is to find what works best for you, and go hard or home!
If you want more ideas like these, plus weekly stories from real Nigerians making crazy cash, sign up for our Money newsletter. We share honest tips to help you earn more and live better.
