Mark*, 31, thought he was done with meme coins after losing over $1,000 in six months. But one random tweet, obscure blockchain, and a $52 gamble pulled him back in, and it paid off big. In this story, he breaks down the wild ride that turned $52 into $2,500 in just three hours.
I’m a software developer and earn about $3,500 a month working remotely for an international company. That’s decent money, but I’ve always regarded crypto as a side hustle with the potential for outsized returns.
The logic was simple: low-value assets multiply faster than high-value ones. If you buy a high-value crypto token for $2,000, and it jumps to $4,000, that’s just a 2x return. But if you buy a token for $0.001 and the value jumps to $0.01, that’s a 10x return.
In any market, stocks or crypto, high-value assets like Bitcoin (BTC) grow at a slower, more predictable pace. It’s like trying to make a big tree grow taller; it’ll happen, but it’ll take time. Meanwhile, low-value assets are like tiny seedlings: with the right conditions, they can sprout fast and multiply in value.
Meme coins, digital currencies based on internet jokes with no real utility, did this more frequently than any other crypto assets. At the time, it felt like the quickest path to life-changing money.
So, I started putting aside small chunks of my income and converting them to USDT (a digital dollar equivalent) to buy meme coins on pump.fun, a platform built on the Solana blockchain that lets users easily launch and trade meme coins. Solana, for context, is like a super-fast, low-cost digital highway for trading crypto. Pump.fun made it feel like a game, part lottery, part strategy.
I gradually increased my bets — first $50, then $200, and eventually $800 across various meme coins. I didn’t do proper research; I was just chasing hype and following Twitter and Telegram group chat recommendations. I’d buy tokens early, hoping demand would shoot the price up 10x. But I rarely sold at the right time. I kept waiting for the price to hit the moon, and almost always ended up in the mud.
The problem was that Solana was like trying to make money in a big industry without knowing anyone. It’s a massive ecosystem where big players, the “whales,” control most of the profitable opportunities. Before small traders like me heard about good opportunities, the smart money had already moved.
By April 2025, I’d lost over $1,000 on Solana-based meme coins. The final blow came when Pump.fun became flooded with scam projects, and the entire meme coin scene felt unsustainable. I stopped trading and took a long break from actively trading meme coins.
I returned to the markets in June 2025, but this time on a different blockchain called SUI. If Solana was like trading in a massive, chaotic market, SUI was like a small, tight-knit community where everyone knows everyone. It’s newer, smaller, and opportunities don’t move as fast, which means beginners like me have a better chance of spotting them early.
On the day that changed everything, I was scrolling through Twitter when I stumbled on a freshly launched meme coin called CCTOO, running on the SUI blockchain. A founder I trusted and respected in the SUI ecosystem had just posted about it. The coin had been created only four hours earlier.
This is crucial: reputation matters more than technical analysis in crypto, especially with meme coins. When someone with a track record puts their name behind something, it carries weight. I probably wouldn’t have bothered if this same person had posted about a Solana meme coin. There’s too much noise on bigger platforms.
I bought $52 worth of the CCTOO meme coin on NoodlesFi, a trading platform built for tokens on the SUI blockchain, which got me 21 million units. The coin was relatively new, so there were no charts to study or price histories to review. It was a total blind bet. After buying, I went to wash dishes, fully prepared to lose the money.
When I checked my phone later, I nearly dropped my plate. My $52 had become hundreds of dollars and was climbing toward a thousand. My heart pounded as I watched the numbers change in real-time.
I started texting friends in my trading groups. They were all screaming the same thing: “Pull it out, bro! Don’t lose everything!”
This time, experience paid off. Instead of getting greedy, I started taking profits gradually. Every time the price dipped, I sold a portion of my holdings. I wasn’t trying to time the perfect peak. I was just trying to secure gains before they disappeared.
By the time the dust settled, I had made over $2,500 from my $52 investment. That’s a 48x return in less than three hours. If I’d held the token until the absolute peak, I could have walked away with over $4,000. But I’d learned the hard way: it’s better to secure good gains than risk losing everything chasing perfect gains.
Here’s the part that might sound crazy: I didn’t withdraw a single naira. I reinvested 90% back into the SUI ecosystem, buying NFTs (digital collectables that serve as membership cards to exclusive crypto communities). The remaining 10% went into the SUI ecosystem’s native token.
I realised that building connections and reputation in a smaller ecosystem was more valuable in the long term than any single payday. Those NFTs gave me access to private groups, early information, and networking opportunities that money can’t directly buy.
Most people underestimate how hard it is to grow money consistently. It’s way easier to flip $50 into $2,000 than to turn $1 million into $10 million. That’s what meme coin trading is: high risk, high reward, and extremely timing-sensitive.
My victory came from understanding the community and building trust within it. On Solana, I was just another anonymous trader. On SUI, I became part of a smaller, more connected community where individual voices matter.
I still trade meme coins occasionally, but I’ve learned not to fall in love with a sudden price surge. When a coin’s value shoots up quickly, it’s easy to get emotionally attached and think it’ll keep pumping. But that’s often when the crash is around the corner.
I focus more on liquidity providing (LP) within the SUI ecosystem, lending my cryptocurrency to trading platforms so others can buy and sell more easily. In return, I earn a share of the trading fees. It’s less thrilling than trading meme coins but way more predictable.
The key lessons? Never invest money you can’t afford to lose. Start with smaller, growing ecosystems where you can build relationships. Take profits gradually instead of hoping for the perfect peak. And sometimes the best opportunities aren’t where everyone else is looking.
Names* have been changed for anonymity.
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Meta is taking another look at digital currency, this time putting stablecoins at the center of its efforts. Unlike the Diem project, which failed to take off, Meta now looks at digital payments through a different lens. This move is drawing attention from fintech and blockchain communities. Baden Bower, a crypto PR agency, is helping startups find visibility while this renewed interest unfolds.
Meta’s New Take on Digital Currency
Meta’s earlier effort—first known as Libra, then Diem—met strong resistance from regulators and drew public concern. Now it’s testing the use of stablecoins within apps like Facebook and WhatsApp. Sources say Meta is working with crypto tech providers to cut transaction costs, especially for international payments to creators.
The stablecoin category keeps expanding. Some estimates put total supply near $1 trillion by late 2025. Leading the charge inside Meta is Ginger Baker, Vice President of Product, with past experience at Plaid and the Stellar Development Foundation.
Her background points to a calculated and practical push. One executive mentioned that this could allow Instagram to support micro-transactions for creators across borders, reducing fees and boosting access.
Baden Bower Helps Startups Stand Out
Crypto startups see rising interest in stablecoins and want ways to stay visible. Baden Bower helps with that. The firm places stories in more than 65 publications, including Bitcoin.com, Bitcoinist, and Business Insider. This exposure gives startups a better shot at gaining traction by showing them how to promote crypto projects with targeted, results-driven media placement.
“Our model includes a money-back guarantee,” says AJ Ignacio, CEO of Baden Bower. “That gives clients the confidence to act.”
According to the firm, the startups it works with often report a 73% jump in website traffic within two weeks. Many also see stronger investor interest and gain more credibility, both valuable when trying to grow in such a fast-moving field.
Telling Better Stories in Crypto
News spreads fast in this corner of finance. Baden Bower uses that speed to its advantage by helping startups tell clearer, sharper stories.
“Every crypto company has something worth sharing,” notes Ignacio. “We help put those stories into words that connect.”
Baden Bower studies how content performs, tracks public interest, and adjusts messaging based on results. This includes smart SEO use and social media outreach on platforms like Twitter, Reddit, and Discord.
It also puts out regular updates for its clients, focusing on achievements that matter and making content easy to find. The goal is long-term recognition, not short bursts of attention.
Stablecoins and the Need for Clear Communication
Stablecoins passed $219 billion in total value during 2024. Some analysts believe that figure may double by 2025. People are using these coins for day-to-day payments and money transfers across borders. As more people try them out, clear and trustworthy communication becomes more important.
Crypto still makes some people uneasy. Security issues and past price swings left a mark. This makes public communication more than a formality. It builds trust where doubt still exists.
“We plan every message carefully and choose the best platforms to share it,” says Ignacio.
Baden Bower keeps close ties with journalists and editors. It doesn’t flood outlets with content. Instead, it places stories where and when they make sense.
Communication That Makes an Impact
Meta’s new interest in stablecoins has led to greater demand for communication firms that understand crypto. Baden Bower meets that demand with guaranteed placements and a focus on results.
“Our clients want results, and that’s what we deliver,” Ignacio adds. “There’s a need for smart PR that actually works.”
It has recently expanded operations into the UK, US, Canada, Germany, France, Singapore, Australia, and the Philippines. These moves aim to serve crypto clients from more locations and reach new audiences.
Crypto projects can be forgotten quickly if no one hears about them. A well-placed article can change that. For many companies, this kind of visibility becomes the difference between gaining traction and fading out.
Every week, Zikoko seeks to understand how people move the Naira in and out of their lives. Some stories will be struggle-ish, others will be bougie. All the time, it’ll be revealing.
When did you first realise the importance of money?
A memory that stands out is from my uni matriculation in 2019. My aunt gave me ₦4k, and I was so excited because it was the closest thing to pocket money I’d ever received.
Getting into uni made my financial standing clear. I met people who got pocket money and realised it was normal to get allowances. One guy told me he received ₦20k monthly and often called his parents for more money. I couldn’t relate to the money or the parents, so I felt different from others.
That’s why that ₦4k made me so excited. Suddenly, I had money and didn’t feel so left out — at least not at that moment.
You said you couldn’t relate to the parents bit. Why’s that?
My parents had passed away. My mum passed when I was 11, and my dad passed in my first year at uni. I didn’t even live with my dad when he was alive. He worked full-time in the ministry and wasn’t financially buoyant, so I mostly lived with relatives. At the time I entered uni, I was living with my uncle.
I’m sorry about your parents
Thank you.
Money-wise, things were much better for me and my siblings when my mum was alive. She was also in the ministry but had a better financial situation than my dad.
Also, my parents were separated, so we lived with her. We lacked nothing. When returning to boarding school, she would buy family-size packets of whatever provisions I needed.
Her death caused a change in our quality of life. We went from living in a four-bedroom apartment to staying with my aunt in a self-contained apartment. Then my dad moved us to my uncle’s in a village, and we had to change schools. It felt like a decline, but I had to adjust.
Living with relatives meant I couldn’t ask for money anyhow, so when I got into uni, I decided to explore options for making money.
What options did you explore?
I learnt several skills before and during COVID in 2020: web design with WordPress, coding and social media management. I even took a “fundamentals of digital marketing” course on Google. The idea was just to learn as much as I could. I didn’t have a clear sense of what I wanted to do, so I just kept trying different things.
I didn’t have a laptop, so I borrowed someone’s laptop to practice what I’d learned. Omo, I collected plenty of insults in the process. The person was younger than me, but always tried to boss me around because I needed their laptop. I endured it because of what I wanted to learn.
Eyes on the prize
In 2020, I landed a remote social media management internship with a media company. It was an unpaid gig — my employer gave me ₦1k for airtime monthly, which wasn’t enough for anything. I stayed because of the experience and worked there for six months.
During my time there, I applied all the new knowledge I gained to building my personal brand. I opened an Instagram account and started posting tips and talking about my work to attract clients.
How did that go?
I got a client pretty quickly. She paid ₦25k to manage her page for a month, and I remember being so surprised someone could cough up that amount to pay for my services. The money was big for me, and I couldn’t handle it.
Do you know what I did?
What did you do?
I took the money and gave it to my boss, with whom I was interning. I transferred the gig to him because I didn’t think I could do it. I still ended up being the one managing the page, and he didn’t pay me for it, but I didn’t mind it.
After the first month, the client ended the contract because we didn’t meet expectations. I wasn’t bothered because I knew I could get someone else. And I did.
I started getting a few gigs from small business owners on Instagram. My boss also worked with multiple clients, and I handled some of their pages. That didn’t bring extra income; I just did it for the love of the game and to gain experience.
One day, I made a post on my Instagram page and a big design brand reposted it. Then the post got 5k likes on that page, and people started following me. That’s how one woman abroad DM’ed me and said she wanted me to help with her page. When she asked how much I charged, I was about to type $30 when she said her budget was $250/month. I thought I was dreaming.
Love it for you. Was it also a social media management gig?
Yeah. I also had to do the designs and create all the content. The client lived in the US and could only pay through PayPal, so she had to pay me through my cousin who lived in the US. At first, my cousin thought I was into Yahoo. Who did I know that was sending me money from the US?
I’m screaming
I worked with her for six months — she even reduced the pay to $180/month after the first few months, but I didn’t mind. I used the money I made from her to buy my first laptop, an old giant Toshiba that cost ₦70k and didn’t fit inside any laptop bag.
After I stopped working with her, I took a course on social media management as a business. The course taught me to approach my skills like a business, not just as a creative, if I hoped to make money. I also learnt how to write proposals and grew more confident charging for my services.
I increased my fees to ₦50k – ₦70k and got a few clients who agreed to pay that amount. Around 2021, I landed a ₦90k gig, which only lasted two weeks because the client wasn’t happy with the work. She only paid ₦45k.
Thinking about it now, between 2020 and 2022, I had quite a number of clients with whom I stopped working because of one disagreement or another. I can trace some of the reasons to my laptop, which was always messing up. When I got the ₦90k gig, I took a ₦150k loan to replace the laptop, thinking I’d be able to repay it with my salary, but that gig went the way it did.
Fortunately, I got a social media management job with a fintech startup shortly after, so I wasn’t stranded for long. This was in 2022.
What was the pay like?
My salary was ₦120k/month, and I worked there until the startup pivoted in 2023 and laid off staff. I was also affected and was unemployed for about three months.
All this time, I was still in uni and living with my elder brother, so I had food to eat. I kept applying to jobs, and towards the end of 2023, I landed one with a startup that paid ₦130k/month.
I supplemented my income with a ₦40k/month video editing side gig and sold social media content calendar templates online at $5 each. I didn’t put much effort into marketing the templates and sold between 2 and 10 every month. I also occasionally made vox pop videos to create content for my page.
Then, in 2024, I got my big break. Someone DM’ed me on WhatsApp and offered me a $1k/month role.
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Wait. How did that happen?
A friend recommended me for the job. The company is an international crypto/blockchain brand that wanted someone to help with its social media and community management efforts in the region.
The offer came just as I was rounding up uni, and it was like the perfect time because there was no way I’d have managed the job while in school. It’s remote, but I have to work a minimum of six hours daily, and there’s software that monitors my work and takes screenshots every 10 minutes to ensure I’m actively on my laptop.
I still work there, and my salary is now $1200/month. I’m not even sure how much my salary is in naira because I haven’t converted the full amount yet. My employer pays in crypto, and I leave it in the exchange and withdraw only what I need using their P2P service.
I’ll do the conversion for you. That’s over ₦1.8m
It was a big jump from my last salary—about a 10x increase. My lifestyle has changed, too. I moved to Lagos after school and went from paying ₦80k/year for rent to ₦1.5m/year for a one-bedroom apartment. I spent about ₦4m on the total rent package and some furnishing.
Living in Lagos also means my monthly bills have vastly increased. I probably wouldn’t need to spend as much as I do if I’d stayed back around school, but it was a necessary change of environment for personal and professional growth.
What do these bills and expenses look like in a typical month?
My staff budget is for the contract assistants I work with when I shoot videos for content. The videos are gradually progressing from a passion project to an income source.
I have a manager who interfaces with potential clients, and we’ve had a couple of people pay us to shoot content for their events. One client paid ₦350k last year, and another paid just last month.
I’m not interested in profit sharing right now because I’m more focused on building a business presence and getting standard equipment. Once that’s done, I can consider trying to earn from it.
What does your savings portfolio look like right now?
$1500. I had to dip into my savings when I moved to Lagos and set up my apartment. I keep my rent savings in a savings app. The rest are in crypto.
I’m curious. How has your rapid income growth shaped how you see money?
My attitude to money has changed to, “This thing is for convenience.” I no longer worry about certain things because I can now afford them.
For instance, money has given me the ability to give, and I give a lot. I can afford to pay attention to people’s needs and keep in touch with them because I know if they need something, I can step in. I can just call my friends, ask how far and go, “Send your account, let’s do this thing.”
I couldn’t do all this before, even when I wanted to. Before, I often had to ignore people’s needs or even limit interactions because of financial concerns. That’s not my problem anymore.
Energy. Do you live above or below your means, though?
I live within my means. I don’t spend so much, except it’s absolutely necessary. Last month, I dropped ₦700k on a laptop because I needed it. This month, I’ll probably need to spend on a few more house furniture needs and set up a Starlink connection. These are basic things that I need. They’re expensive, but they aren’t exactly luxuries.
I get you. Out of curiosity again, do you ever worry about money?
I definitely worry about losing my job and not having money for the things I want. But I also feel like I’ll have money when I need it. If anything happens to my job, I’ll just find another one or focus on video production. My mum used to have a thing where her account balance could be zero today and money would enter the next day.
I’ve experienced that before, too. Several times, I was almost stranded, and money just came. I’m consciously trying to fix my money habits, so I don’t just rely on money coming in. I plan to read financial books, intentionally manage my money and achieve financial stability.
Is there anything you want right now you can’t afford?
Not right now, but a wedding. I know I’m just 22, but I believe I’ve met the person I want to spend my life with, and I hope to get married in the next two to three years. I want a small intimate wedding, but I’ll still need to get my money up, considering how expensive things get every day.
How would you rate your financial happiness on a scale of 1-10?
6. I don’t think I have a handle on my finances yet, so I still feel broke. I want to be able to manage my money strictly, figure out extra sources of income, and make better financial decisions.
If you’re interested in talking about your Naira Life story, this is a good place to start.
Join 1,000+ Nigerians, finance experts and industry leaders at The Naira Life Conference by Zikoko for a day of real, raw conversations about money and financial freedom. Click here to buy a ticket and secure your spot at the money event of the year, where you’ll get the practical tools to 10x your income, network with the biggest players in your industry, and level up in your career and business.
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There’s nothing funny about being a broke student. The endless “bro, abeg” texts, checking your account balance like money will suddenly appear, and doing mental maths to see if your last ₦5k can cover data, transport, food, and a little flex.
But students across Nigeria have also managed to escape this struggle. From managing social media pages to editing videos and even gaming, students like you have figured out legitimate ways to make money online.
We spoke to some of them, and here’s what you need to know about how to make money online as a student in Nigeria.
7 Real Ways Nigerian Students Are Making Money Online
Good news: you don’t have to be broke when the internet exists. Here are 7 online income streams every student should know:
1. Social Media Management
Remember when your parents said, “You’re always on that phone”? Jokes on them because some students are getting paid to do exactly that. Social media managers handle Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok pages for businesses, keeping them active, engaging, and growing.
This is how Ameen, a 20-year-old third-year engineering student, is making it work:
“I started doing Canva designs as a side hustle for extra cash in April 2024. I set up a Fiverr gig, and one day, a podcast brand in Manhattan reached out. At first, it was just small, one-off projects, but they kept coming back.
After a few months of back-and-forth projects, we took things off Fiverr and started communicating over email. That’s when they put me on a $200/month retainer to handle their Instagram designs and upload content on YouTube, Facebook and TikTok. I have Zoom meetings with my client once a week, where we strategise different ways to expand the brand’s visibility and reach.
It’s not been difficult balancing it with my engineering degree. Once I schedule everything, I barely have to think about the workload.”
How to get started:
Build an online presence: Grow your audience and treat your social media account like a portfolio.
Get hands-on experience: Manage a friend’s business page, intern for a brand, or offer free services to a small business to build your portfolio.
Master the Right Tools: Learn Canva (designs), Meta Business Suite (scheduling Instagram and Facebook posts), and Hootsuite or Buffer to manage multiple platforms simultaneously.
Find Clients: Cold pitch your services to small businesses or professionals on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Upwork.
Everyone — from TikTok influencers to YouTubers — needs a good editor. If you can turn raw footage into a crisp, engaging video, you’re sitting on a skill that pays.
This is how Khaerat, a 19-year-old fourth-year law student, is making it work:
“I started creating video content on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok in my second year in uni, just for fun. But I was building a portfolio without realising it, and it landed me paying gigs.
I got my first gig in May 2024, about a year after I started editing videos for social media. I get paid according to my rate card. Right now, I have four video editing gigs: three pay me ₦50K each, and one pays ₦100K. I also juggle an ₦80K social media management job, all alongside my law degree.
Since I work best at night, I batch-edit my videos and designs to stay on top of everything. It’s also my way of unwinding from the demands of studying law.
I’ve landed all my jobs by simply tweeting about my work or commenting under posts to offer my services. It doesn’t feel overwhelming because I enjoy what I do, and with more experience, I’ve gained the confidence to charge higher and ditch toxic clients.
I use CapCut for editing, Canva for designs and Buffer to create and schedule content. After school, I plan to continue doing this alongside my legal career, especially since I’m going into corporate or business law—not litigation. I know my earning potential will grow when I have more time to take on bigger projects.”
How to get started:
Learn the basics: Start with free editing apps like CapCut, InShot or DaVinci Resolve before moving to more advanced software like Adobe Premiere Pro.
Offer free or discounted work: Edit videos for small content creators or friends for proof of work.
Create a portfolio: Showcase your best work on platforms like Google Drive, Behance, or a simple Instagram/Twitter thread.
Engage on social media: Post snippets of your work, engage with content creators and offer your services on these platforms.
Find paid gigs: Start freelancing on Fiverr and Upwork, and use Twitter and LinkedIn to network.
Charge your worth: Set competitive rates based on your skill level, but don’t undersell yourself. Increase your prices as you gain more experience.
Stay updated: Video trends change fast. Keep up with editing styles, effects, and platform-specific content demands.
Build client relationships: Deliver quality work, communicate clearly, and retain long-term clients by being reliable.
3. E-commerce
Some students aren’t waiting for jobs; they’re creating them. From selling thrift clothes to launching skincare brands, e-commerce is thriving.
This is how Hikmat, a 22-year-old final-year Botany student, is making it work:
“I sell skincare products and get customers through WhatsApp, TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram. My Whatsapp catalogue makes ordering easy, and most of my customers are students in my hostel, department, and across campus.
I stock up on sheet masks, lip and eye masks, pimple patches, and nose pore strips from a Chinese e-commerce website (1688) through an agent.
My first order cost ₦70k and included 160 sheet masks, 100 lip and eye masks plus shipping fee. Since I started in June 2024, I’ve made three times that amount in profit. In my first week alone, I pulled in ₦25k. I’ve restocked at least twice since then. However, I use sea shipping, which takes 2–3 months. I find that it’s best to order in bulk.
On an average month, I make ₦35k to ₦40k; on a bad month, ₦10k. But on a good month, I make ₦50k. Skincare is huge among students right now, so I knew I was tapping into the right market. My earnings fluctuate because I haven’t been consistent.
I started this business because my ₦20k monthly allowance wasn’t cutting it, and I didn’t want to burden my family.
I recommend starting this business if you have enough capital to buy in bulk. The competition is tough, and many sellers drop their prices just to attract customers. It only works if you’re buying at scale.”
How to get started:
Do your market research: Understand what sells and who your target audience is.
Choose a product with demand: Items like thrift clothes, skincare products, accessories, and gadgets are in high demand among students.
Source Smartly: Buy from local markets or platforms like 1688/Alibaba.
Choose the right channels: Sell on the right social media platforms (TikTok, Twitter, Instagram). By creating engaging content, you get free marketing.
Market your business: Build visibility and attract customers.
Manage your finances: Track earnings, reinvest and scale your business.
4. Graphic Design
Logos, flyers, business cards, social media graphics; if you can design them, someone will pay you.
This is how Korede, a 22-year-old final-year Computer Science student, is making it work:
Korede, 22 (400 level, Computer Science)
“I was in 200 level when I realised I could make money from design. We had a class assignment, and my lecturer singled out my work as one of the best. But since what I study is programming-heavy, that one design class wasn’t enough. I wanted more. So, I started practising and sharing my work on WhatsApp, and before I knew it, someone paid me ₦5K for a logo. That was shocking because I survived on a ₦3k weekly allowance at the time.
I grew curious, obsessed and hungry for knowledge, but I didn’t have a laptop. So, I borrowed from friends and installed Corel Draw on a flash drive. A coursemate taught me the basics in a week, and I spent hours sitting behind students who designed after lecture hours, watching them navigate the software. That’s how I found Photoshop. It was tough at first, but I found a mentor on YouTube.
Now, I don’t even have to post my work. Referrals keep me busy, and I make between ₦500k and ₦700k monthly. I design at least 15 graphics daily—party flyers, social media graphics, stickers, logos, banners, etc. I also work a design internship at a Nigerian EdTech company, earning ₦80K/month. On Fiverr, I do photo manipulation gigs and regular designs, making around $250–$300 monthly. Occasionally, I design branding assets for UK wedding and event brands. I won’t lie — I spend a lot of it on food because I never imagined making this much. But the workload is insane. My grades have dropped, and I have no social life. Sometimes, I skip class to meet deadlines. It’s draining, so I plan to cut down on party flyers and new recommendations and focus on my internship and Fiverr. The money is sweet, but I still need to graduate.
How to get started:
Learn a design tool: Start with Photoshop or Illustrator.
Build a portfolio: Offer free designs to small businesses and build a portfolio on Instagram and Behance.
Show your work: Post consistently on social media.
List your services: Sign up on Fiverr and Upwork.
Keep improving: Take online courses and study trends.
5. Ghostwriting
If you have a way with words, ghostwriting can be a lucrative hustle. Clients pay well for high-quality, anonymous content, from fiction to nonfiction and blog posts. You just need to know where to find them.
This is how Catherine, a 21-year-old final-year Human Physiology student, is making it work:
“I ghostwrite fiction for an international web novel company in the U.S., earning $300 per book. If a book performs well on the app, I get a bonus of $50 to $100, which pushes up my monthly earnings. It’s basically a 9-5, except I don’t leave my house.
I also take up side gigs on freelance platforms when I have time.
Before this, I earned ₦60k a month doing outsourced work for Nigerian writers who landed big gigs but paid me peanuts. Over time, I gained confidence and started charging my worth. Now, I source my own international clients on Upwork, Fiverr, and LinkedIn and get paid in dollars directly.
The company I currently write for is similar to Wattpad, and they even have a partner company that adapts books into short telenovela films and repurposes them into bite-sized paid ads for platforms like Snapchat.My Nigerian friend, who currently works as a senior editor at the company, recommended me, and it’s been a great experience since I started working there in July 2023.
I typically write one book a month, but sometimes I push for two. When I write a full-length novel, the word count is 150,000 per book, while novellas are about 100,000 words.
Writing romance may seem easy, but it’s brutal. Some clients make me edit the same document 10 times before they’re satisfied. I put in about 80 hours a week, balancing school and deadlines.
I primarily work between lectures and late at night, but on free days, I wake up, check pending tasks, and grind all day. The workload can be overwhelming — tasks pile up, my head feels full, and sometimes, I just completely shut down. Now that I’m in my final year, juggling my thesis and writing is even harder, so I’m trying to cut back before it burns me out completely.
Will I keep ghostwriting after school? Yes. Will I do it full-time forever? Hell no. If I could start over, I’d charge my worth from day one. I let people underpay and exploit me at first, but never again.”
How to get started:
Pick a niche: Specialise in a specific area to stand out and attract clients.
Create a portfolio: Start small. Write Twitter threads, Medium articles, or LinkedIn posts to showcase your writing style.
Find clients: List your services on Fiverr, Upwork, and LinkedIn platforms.
Set your rates: Research how much ghostwriters in your niche earn and charge accordingly. Don’t undersell your work.
Write your own work: Avoid relying on AI to generate content. Clients pay for originality and creativity. If you must use AI, limit it to best practices: research, brainstorming, or light editing.
Stay consistent: The more you write, the better you get. Deliver high-quality work on time, follow briefs carefully, and build relationships with clients for long-term success.
6. Crypto Jobs
The crypto space is more than buying Bitcoin — it’s a whole economy. Some students trade, some play games to earn, and others take Crypto jobs.
This is how Fehin, a 21-year-old third-year History & International Relations student, is making it work:
“I make between $200 and $500 monthly from crypto jobs, but my highest monthly earnings have been up to $1,000. I got into crypto out of curiosity; I wanted to know how to make money online in Nigeria.
I started by learning the basics, trading, and immersing myself in crypto communities. Now, I manage social media pages, primarily on Twitter and Discord, for big projects and communities and create content to drive engagement. I also take ambassador roles because I’ve grown my crypto Twitter following to 6000 plus.
Most of my gigs come from networking on Twitter. I got my current role because I was active in the community, engaging with projects and applying for ambassador programs. I dedicate 15–20 hours weekly to my crypto jobs, depending on my school workload.
The hardest part is managing time during exams. I schedule tasks in advance and focus on high-priority work. I plan to go into the crypto space full-time after school. If I had to start over, I’d prioritise networking and building a strong personal brand on Crypto Twitter earlier.
My advice? Learn valuable real-life skills: content creation, social media management, research, etc., be active in communities, and don’t be afraid to apply for roles. Networking and consistency are everything.”
How to get started:
Learn the basics: Use YouTube and online resources to understand the fundamentals of crypto.
Establish a social identity: Build your presence on Crypto Twitter and grow your reputation by engaging in discussions and sharing insights.
Penetrate communities: Look for active crypto communities to join on Telegram and Discord.
Look for job opportunities: Explore Telegram, Discord, Twitter and crypto job listing platforms for opportunities. (CryptoJobsList, SuperteamEarn, etc.)
Apply and Network Relentlessly: Engage with community members and build connections.
7. Virtual Assistance
If you’re good at handling tasks, replying to emails, or keeping things organised, you can make money as a Virtual Assistant (VA). Entrepreneurs, influencers, and busy professionals need help managing their workload and are willing to pay for it.
This is how Grace, a 21-year-old third-year Engineering Physics student, is making it work:
“I make an average of ₦120K monthly as a Virtual Assistant (VA).
I recently worked with a medical student, helping her source and compile data into readable files for her research. The contract lasted a month and paid well.
I got the job through a friend after consistently sharing my work and learning journey on social media. Building in public — documenting my training, progress, projects, and wins — helped me get noticed.
I started earning four months after completing my VA training on ALX Africa in 2024. My highest monthly earnings so far is ₦150K. Before this, I got ₦20K monthly from home — barely enough for transport, feeding, and study materials.
The job takes about 30 hours a week, which can be intense, but time management helps me balance it with school. I wake up early to complete tasks before class and structure my work hours around my school timetable. I also avoid taking on new projects during exams.
If you want to become a Virtual Assistant, get proper training, master tools like Trello, Calendly, Google Workspace, Notion, and Canva, and find a mentor. Most importantly, put yourself out there—opportunities come when you stay visible and consistent.”
How to Get Started:
Identify your skills: Stick to what you’re good at, whether it’s email management, data entry, research, customer service, or social media.
Learn the basics: Master tools like Google Workspace, Trello, Asana, and Notion with free courses on Coursera, ALX Africa, or YouTube.
Set your rates: VAs in Nigeria earn ₦80K₦468K/month (Glassdoor). Start low, gain experience, and charge what you’re worth.
Find your first client: If needed, skip Fiverr and Upwork, network on Twitter and LinkedIn, and ask around. Referrals work magic.
Create a simple portfolio: Show what you can do with sample emails, calendar schedules, or task management templates.
Sign a Contract First: Protect yourself with a contract covering payment terms, tasks, availability, and confidentiality. No contract? Big red flag.
Bottom Line
Making money online as a student in Nigeria isn’t rocket science. Pick one skill, start learning today, stay consistent and put yourself out there. Nobody will hand you money for free, but if you put in the work, urgent ₦2k will never be your portion again.
Meme coins are a class of crypto driven by wildly resonant memes, hype, narratives, and internet culture rather than actual use cases. Think of them as the crypto equivalent of a viral trend. They can blow up overnight, make some people rich, and then disappear just as fast.
Despite having no fundamental value, meme coins have made people overnight millionaires and bankrupted them just as quickly.
We spoke to four Nigerian meme coin traders who have experienced the madness firsthand. From wild profits to crushing losses, here’s what they said.
Wale, 25, Crypto Twitter Influencer: “I turned $400 to $22k with a meme coin.”
In September 2024, I bought 224,000 units of a meme coin called BabyBNB for $400. Five days later, I made $22,000. This is how it happened.
Some context: I stumbled on BabyBNB during a random Twitter scroll. The meme coin was a spin-off of BNB (Binance Coin), a cryptocurrency issued by Binance, the largest crypto exchange in the world.
While the original BNB has been used to facilitate payments and trades since 2017, this spinoff had no clear utility or purpose. But it didn’t matter.
Meme coins thrive on hype, and Binance was all the rage on Twitter because of a scandal: Changpeng Zhao (CZ), who founded the crypto exchange, had just been released from a four-month sentence. This shot BNB’s price through the moon, and meme coin traders quickly capitalised on the trend.
BabyBNB launched on September 27, the same day Binance founder Zhao was released. I started buying large units at fractions of cents: $50 here, $100 there, and slowly built my position. The prices took off on the first day, and I started taking profits immediately. In just a few hours, I sold the first 36,000 units for $3,600.
The price peaked at $0.143 per unit on the third day, and I offloaded almost everything. I knew it was time to sell because early buyers with significant holdings had started taking their profit and offloading the coin. I figured they knew something I didn’t, and that was my signal to sell.
Imagine stocking 224,000 litres of petrol at ₦180 per litre. Three days later, fuel scarcity hits, and the price jumps to ₦600 per litre. You sell everything at the peak and cash out big before things return to normal. That was exactly what this was. I withdrew all my money in five days and locked in $22k. I turned ₦600K to ₦33 million with one insane gamble.
Baby BNB is practically worthless today. If I had held onto my coins, they’d be worth $274. That’s the thing about meme coins; you either take your profits when you can or cry later.
Abdul*, 24, Community Moderator: “I turned $670 into $11K overnight with $TRUMP.”
January 17, 2025, was a regular Friday until it wasn’t. I returned from the gym, showered, and dozed off briefly. When I woke up at midnight, my night turned into absolute madness.
I sat down to my usual routine of filtering through meme coin updates, looking for my next potential stake. Around 4 a.m., a friend sent me an update on Telegram: Donald Trump had launched an official meme coin.
It was three days before his inauguration, and the announcement was right there on his Twitter account.
The idea of a U.S. president-elect launching a meme coin for quick returns was insane, and I was sceptical, fearing it was a scam. Reputable accounts get hacked on Twitter, and this meme coin was riding on a political trend.
I caved when I saw that the market value had exploded from zero to $4 billion a few hours after launch.
Something big was happening.
I threw in $670, and my money increased to $1,600 in the blink of an eye. I quickly took out $800, which was enough to cover my initial stake and secure some profit. Then I went to sleep.
I woke up a few hours later and was in utter disbelief when I checked my balance. My wallet had $11,000 in it. I withdrew everything instantly; I didn’t spend a second mulling over it.
I had learned not to be over-greedy. Even though I was technically greedy for leaving the remaining money overnight, it was something I could afford to lose.
On October 18th 2024, I went in with $2,000. But when the value started dropping significantly, I panicked and sold for a brutal $1,300 loss. As if my village people were personally mocking me, the damn coin took off.
I watched in horror as $Fartcoin’s value skyrocketed.
What followed was an emotional rollercoaster. On the first day, the market cap shot up to $4 million before it crashed to $2 million. I thought, “Yeah, I made the right call.”
A day later, the market cap exploded to $25 million. Five days later? It was back down to $6 million. That was a 70% drop. I thought I’d dodged a bullet, so I bailed and dumped everything.
But from that $6 million low, $Fartcoin blew past $100 million, to $500 million, to $1.3 billion, and then its peak of $2 billion. I would have turned my $2,000 into $600,000 if I had held my position. Instead, I walked away with a loss.
Meme coins brutally test your patience. No trader likes to lose because it seriously wrecks your confidence. It’s always better to walk away with something than to watch your money vanish into thin air. That’s why I made my decision.
I’ve learned my lesson, though. In meme coin trading, fear is your worst enemy. If you panic, you lose. If you get greedy, you definitely lose. And If you hesitate, you’ll miss out on money that could have changed your life. But the real test is knowing whether to hold or sell. I made the wrong call, and it cost me dearly.
Mark*, 31, Software Developer: “I’m a sore loser. I put $800 in meme coins and lost it all.”
I started trading meme coins in November 2024. Bitcoin had recently hit $100k, and the entire crypto market gained new momentum. Everyone was making money except me.
I had some agricultural investments, but I was looking for ways to diversify my portfolio and generate quick returns. That’s when I learned about meme coins.
At first, I played it safe. I’d take $10 out of my monthly income, convert it to crypto on an exchange platform like Bybit, and then trade it on pump-fun. Then I started buying different meme coins: $50 here, another $300 and $400 there. Before I knew it, I had put in $800, and everything crashed to zero in minutes.
I hoped I’d catch the next big meme coin and make a 10,000% profit. It’s simple: I’d buy large units early and wait for hype to increase demand. Before I knew it, the price would have multiplied.
But I’m a sore loser. I bought, held, and lost everything. I watched the coins pump, but I didn’t take profit; I was gunning for the highest.
Since November, I’ve traded at least 50 meme coins and lost every time. My wallet is still full of them, but they’re worthless.
I’ve lost everything, and I’ll probably lose again. But as long as there’s a shot at life-changing money, I will continue to trade meme coins.
Bottom line
Meme coin trading is like sports betting in a suit. You might get lucky, but most times, you won’t. If you can’t afford to lose the money, think twice before staking it. Most importantly, do your own research.
Every week, Zikoko seeks to understand how people move the Naira in and out of their lives. Some stories will be struggle-ish, others will be bougie. All the time, it’ll be revealing.
What’s your earliest memory of money?
I started getting pocket money in JSS 1. It was the early 90s, so I don’t remember the exact amount now. I always gave the money to my uncle — who was in SSS 3 — for safekeeping because the students in my boarding school were notorious for stealing.
But my uncle was the one I should’ve been careful of. He started spending my money and would lie to me that it had finished. Somehow, I believed I spent it all.
How did you find out?
My dad noticed I was constantly writing to him for more money every few days. He asked, “Why is your money always finishing?” And I responded, “My uncle said the money has finished.” My dad figured he was tampering with the money and asked him. My uncle was mad at me for not covering him.
I changed schools in JSS 2 when I kept getting bullied for my accent and started keeping my pocket money myself.
What accent?
I spent some of my early years in the UK with my parents, who were studying for postgraduate degrees. I was in primary two when they were done, and we moved back to Nigeria in 1991. I remember because my parents were really disturbed by the fact that a dollar exchanged at ₦14 on the black market.
If only they knew now
When we returned to Nigeria, my dad worked in agribusiness for a bit with the company that sent him to the UK while my mum found work as a teacher. There was a bit more money, and I was the boy with comic books in primary school. I had them all — Superman, Batman, Guardians of the Galaxy, you name it.
But my dad left his job to become a missionary around the time I entered secondary school, and we had to tighten our belts. No more comic books, and we moved to a smaller town.
What did your mum think about your dad’s decision?
If there was any pushback, my siblings and I weren’t aware. My parents always presented a united front, and they cushioned us from whatever our financial situation was as best as they could.
I entered university in 2001, and they placed me on a ₦20k/month allowance, which was a reasonably good amount. Unfortunately, I didn’t know how to handle money, so I spent it on music CDs and books and was always broke before the next allowance came in.
We’ve all been there. When was the first time you made your own money?
2002. I was studying engineering in school but didn’t like the course. So, I put my energy into learning programming. I found this book called “Teach Yourself C++ in 21 Days” and another called “Cryptonomicon” by Neal Stephenson and decided I wanted to be a cryptologist. But I started with programming. I spent hours in the library learning how to code on the computers.
My first gig was to build a website for a church, and they were supposed to pay me ₦10k, but I never got anything. In fact, I didn’t get paid for the first three gigs I did. One was even my dad’s friend who promised ₦50k for a website gig but never paid. Funny enough, he saw me regularly after that and always said, “I have a job for you to help me do.” Yeah, right.
LOL
I quit engineering and moved to Ghana in 2004 to start my first degree afresh. I had started getting depressed because I wasn’t doing great academically, and I desperately wanted to move to the US to study. However, my parents couldn’t afford the tuition, and scholarships didn’t work out, so I settled for Ghana to study mathematics because of my cryptologist goal.
Did you get more gigs while in Ghana?
Yes, but they were mostly from Nigeria. At one point, I worked with about four companies simultaneously, which meant I was in Nigeria almost every weekend. The clients paid for my flights to Nigeria on Friday and then back on Sunday. I had so many airline miles I was giving it out.
How much were you making from the gigs, though?
Anything between ₦100k to $5k per project, depending on what I was working on. Some clients — mostly the big ones — also didn’t complete payment. But I was making money. I also had a friend from a freelance agency who regularly threw work my way.
In my second year in Ghana, I became responsible for myself and stopped calling home for money. My parents had also gone full-time into the ministry, which affected the family’s finances, so I occasionally supported my siblings too. I didn’t really spend on anything else apart from books and music. By the time I finished school in 2009, I had saved about €20k.
That’s huge. Were you saving towards a particular goal?
Yes, a postgraduate degree. I got admitted to an English-speaking German university to study for a one-year Master’s degree in Computational Mathematics. About €15k from my savings went into covering my fees, rent and living expenses for the year.
After one year in Germany, I moved to India in 2010 for another Master’s degree in Computer Science. I chose India because it was cheaper. It only cost me $2k to cover fees and living expenses for the one-year program.
I’m curious. Why the double Master’s degrees?
I just wanted to expand my knowledge. I’ve wanted to get a PhD since I was seven; I consider it one of the highest intellectual awards one could get. It’s not even to become a professor; I’m not one to teach. But that PhD? I still plan to have it before I die. Even if it means doing it at 70 with my grandkids.
Did you do anything for money while in these countries?
I lived on my savings for the most part. My student visa didn’t allow me to work in India. The only job I managed to do in Germany was to assist at a local food mart, where I sat behind a register. This paid like €10 or €15 per hour. It was good money for almost no work, but it wasn’t my thing.
I also did a website for one hair salon lady for €100. I also tried bartending, but I was more interested in drinking than actually serving the drinks.
I left India after my Master’s and returned to Nigeria. Then, I tried to go to Poland for my PhD, but it didn’t work out. So, I decided to stay back and work for a year before returning to school. It wasn’t that easy.
What happened?
Applying to jobs in Nigeria with two Master’s degrees on my CV was destroying my chances. Recruiters said they couldn’t afford to pay me. So, I drafted two CVs: one with all my degrees for foreign jobs and the other without them for local jobs.
Did that help?
It did. I got a ₦150k/month job at a web development studio, but I only stayed for seven months because my boss was more interested in politics than paying us for our work. At the point I left, I was being owed two months’ salary.
After that, I worked freelance between 2012 and 2013. I didn’t get as many exciting gigs as I did in university, but it paid the bills. That said, the thing about freelancing is that you can make ₦3 million today and make nothing for the next couple of months. It wasn’t sustainable.
Plus, my tastes had changed. As a uni student, I didn’t need to spend much. But as an upwardly mobile tech bro, I started hanging out with other tech bros, and my expenses increased. At some point, I reduced how frequently I hung out because I couldn’t always afford the drinks. When your friend buys you drinks twice, by the third time, it’s already looking awkward.
Real. Did you try applying for 9-5 jobs again?
Yes. Fortunately, I landed a ₦200k/month job towards the end of 2013. I stayed there for only a few months before moving to another role that paid three times more. After nine months, I also left the new job because I got bored and returned to freelancing. Nine months is the longest I’ve spent at a job.
In 2017, I returned to 9-5 for ₦450k/month and quit after four months — the boss was terrible. Shortly after, I took up another ₦300k/month job with one of the early Nigerian blockchain companies, but they crashed around March or April 2018.
I then moved to Maiduguri to work with an NGO. It was almost like I did it for charity because the job was below my skills and only paid ₦130k. But after two or three incidents where I ran from Boko Haram attacks, I decided I was done. ₦130k wasn’t enough for that.
What did you do next?
I did another four-month stint at a company I later discovered scammed its customers. They paid their developers, though, and my $500/month salary was never delayed. I left the job for another that paid me $1k/month. I was just moving like that and increasing my income.
My savings increased with my salary too. By the time I started earning $3k/month in 2020, I was saving and investing 80% of it. Mostly because I was living with my parents and had side gigs that brought money in occasionally.
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What were some of the things you invested in?
Stocks: tech, pharmaceutical, and metals through foreign investment platforms. I invested in Tesla when it was $30 per stock. When I sold most of it in 2022, it had grown to $290.
I also had 50 Bitcoins, which I got as a gift in 2012 when it was still around $12. I tried to access them in 2018 and realised I’d forgotten my private key to the wallet.
Excuse me. WHAT?
Yeah. I haven’t been able to crack it since, even though I’ve been doing blockchain bounty hunting since 2021.
What does that mean?
I go around different blockchain projects to find security bugs or build something for them. Bounty hunting is all in — you either make so much money or nothing at all. I once lost an $80k reward because I stepped out in the middle of solving the problem to grab drinks with a friend. By the time I returned, someone else had submitted a solution.
Damn.
I landed a more stable job to handle a project’s developer relations shortly after, though. It paid $7k/month with bonuses up to $5k. I did that for about four months. During that time, I took a small break from working on multiple blockchain projects to focus on the job.
I saved and invested aggressively, living only on $1k/month. This time, my savings goal was to get a Golden Visa.
Why did you want a golden visa?
I want to travel the world, which isn’t the easiest thing to do with a Nigerian passport. I wanted a passport that’d give me access to pretty much everywhere. So, I learned about the golden visa, and the most affordable option I found was the Portugal Golden Visa. It cost €350k and involved buying property, which would give me a five-year residency. Last last, I could rent out the property and make money from it. I only needed to visit Portugal for one week every year for those five years, after which I’d get citizenship.
Plus, they don’t pay tax on crypto-based earnings in Portugal, they speak a lot of English, and there’s a relatively big Black community there. It was the perfect option, and I was going to get it. But then I lost all my savings — over $500k in total.
Wait. How did that happen?
I’d invested about $80k in Terra in 2021. By April 2022, it had grown to $150k. Then the Luna/Terra coin crash happened, and took my money with it. Honestly, I should’ve known the returns were too good to be true, but shit happens. It was painful, but I still had about $400k in other savings and investments. So, it was like, “Damn, I lost money. Well, I still have money.”
I just fell to my knees
The plan was to finalise my Golden Visa in November 2022. So, I liquidated the rest of my crypto and stocks in late October and put it all — about $380k — in a crypto exchange, FTX. I didn’t put the money in the bank because I didn’t want anyone asking too many questions or forcing me to fill out forms.
It was supposed to be there for a week. Unfortunately, FTX crashed on November 2. I didn’t even know until November 9 because I was busy with work and was ignoring my emails. By the time I found out, my money was gone. If I had heard the news earlier, I could’ve withdrawn some of it.
Oh my God. I’m so sorry
I was devastated. I couldn’t take a bath, eat or step outside for a whole week. My security guard even came into the house to make sure I wasn’t dead. I usually struggle with depressive episodes. I’m very sure that if I’d been in one of my low periods when this happened, I’d have killed myself.
It wasn’t exactly the money I lost that bothered me; it was the freedom it was supposed to bring.
Ironically, I’d quit my job earlier that year to start my own software development company in February 2022. I was supposed to get a $200k investment grant but got $50k in funding. I also only got 30% of the $50k upfront. The rest was going to come only after we delivered a particular project, so I had to put much of my money into the startup. We had more than 20 staff, and I had to pay almost ₦10m in salaries and other expenditure every month.
By the time I lost my savings, we’d already depleted our initial funds, and I had to take a ₦20m loan to pay salaries in November and December. We finished the funding-backed project in December, and I had to tell my staff we were taking an indefinite break till we got back on our feet.
Phew. That’s a lot. How did you pay back the loan?
The 70% balance came in, and fortunately for me, the naira had fallen against the dollar. It was now about ₦700 to $1 from about ₦300 at the beginning of the year. It meant the naira value I got was far more than when we got the first 30%. I was able to use the money to settle the loans I took and still had about ₦26m.
I still have a few freelance developers on the payroll for another major project we’re working on, but progress is slow — we haven’t gotten to the point where we have paying customers. Maybe if the investment grant had come in and I hadn’t lost my money, we’d have a working product in the market now.
What are you up to now?
I’m definitely more broke than I was in 2022, and I pay more attention to how I spend money. After moping around for months, I went back to bounty hunting for a bit in 2023. Another way I make money now is by participating in crypto communities on Discord.
How does that work?
Once you show you’re active by helping to solve problems in the group, the owners reach out and offer you a stipend to continue giving value.
One group pays me $1k/month. Another group gave me some Joystream coins because I was an early member, and I can always sell them if I absolutely need money. I explore communities to see where I can pitch in and make random $2k occasionally.
Usually, I’m sure of earning $1,800 – $2,500 monthly from bounty hunting and the crypto communities. It’s often higher. I’ve made about $8k once. The only downside is that if something goes wrong in the communities, you’re the first person people will yell at since you’re the one answering their questions.
Out of interest, did you tell friends and family about the money you lost?
I told my family and some close friends, but weirdly, it didn’t stop people from asking me for money. I’m usually the first person people think about when they need money, and it’s gotten worse since September 2023. Maybe I’ll blame Tinubu for it, but everyone suddenly became broke.
In a day, I’d get like 2-3 calls from people seeking financial assistance. It got so bad I had to change my number. I gave a few friends the new number, and now I’m even considering changing it again. Almost every day, someone asks for ₦20k or a ₦100k loan.
What are your monthly expenses like?
I still save 50% – 70% of my earnings monthly. Most of the crypto I got from the community is vested and worth about $40k today, but it’s imaginary money. I can’t access it yet, and crypto prices fluctuate wildly to say this is the definite amount I have. I should have access to it in 2025, and I plan to take 50% out to invest in stocks and metals. I’ll also probably invest in local property.
You’ve been on quite a financial journey. How have your experiences impacted your perspective on money?
It’s a two-way thing. On one hand, I’m trying to spend more conservatively. I haven’t changed my iPhone in almost two years, and I love having the latest gadgets.
On the other hand, I’m very aware of how fickle money is. It’s like, I better enjoy this money now because it may not be there tomorrow. I feel like I didn’t enjoy my money the first time around. So, I find myself constantly trying to strike a balance. I still intend to travel the world, so that’s still on my bucket list.
What do you imagine the next few years might look like for you?
My current target is a startup visa to Portugal, France or Denmark. People aren’t really going through the golden visa route anymore, and this is one of the best ways to get a stronger passport as an entrepreneur. It means I’ll need to pay more attention to building my startup. I plan to do that with the help of accelerator programs later this year, provided I remember to apply before the deadlines.
How would you rate your financial happiness on a scale of 1 – 10?
4. I need to get to the point where I’m making a million dollars a month. You know, to be able to buy things and travel without worrying about how to fund it or get stopped because of my passport. I’d also like to set up education trust funds for my nieces and nephews.
Have you considered where the $1 million/month would come from?
Income from work projects and investments, plus savings. I’m also talking to several business partners, and I’m hoping that the law of averages alone will ensure at least a few of the projects go my way.
I’ll be able to diversify my investments once my startup starts making money. I believe that’ll happen soon because I’m serving a growing market and offering solutions for a need that has been underutilised. I’m also looking to become an angel investor for startups or maybe even venture capital within the next three to five years.
Interesting
Earning $1 million isn’t just for spending sake, though. It’ll be a great financial security for me and my family, but I’m also looking to invest in lessening the effects of climate change and food and water insecurity.
I believe we’re on the brink of a major food and environmental problem in Africa. If Niger or Mali decide to block River Niger, our water supply is cut off. We must figure out ways to trap water from the environment, reforest our semi-arid areas and even consider renewable energy. I’m interested in these issues, and making that kind of money would mean I can contribute to solving them.
If you’re interested in talking about your Naira Life story, this is a good place to start.
It doesn’t matter whether or not they have actual Ethereum. It’s a title you get when you go from owning paper money to computer money. It comes with the funds. We didn’t make the rules.
There’s an ape on their Twitter avi
If you’re wondering what’ll make a grown person use a picture of an ape wearing sunglasses as their profile picture, look no further. It’s crypto.
They talk about crypto all the time
Once they start to mention Bitcoin and NFTs a little too often, just read the handwriting on the wall.
They don’t talk about crypto at all
If they never mention crypto to you at all, it’s probably because they’ve made plenty money from it and are aggressively avoiding billing.
They’re richer than their 9 – 5 suggests
We know we like to tell you to mind your business, but some people have money that makes you curious. If you see someone like that and you’re sure they’re not a trust fund baby, just know they’re likely a crypto sis or bro. In fact, the 9 to 5 is probably a hobby.
They have the Luno app on their phone
Last last, they can hide everything but they can’t hide where they keep their plenty funds. If you spot the Luno app on their phone, just ask them to show you the way because their money is long.
But first, you need to download the app and sign up too, so you can easily buy cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum, and keep them safe till they help you blow.
Call them and start crying
Normalise calling your abroad folks in the middle of the night just to cry, so they can know that there’s fire on the mountain, and the mountain in this case is your bank account.
Tell them you want to know what foreign currency feels like
If you know anything about abroad people, you’ll know they’re always eager to tell you how nice everything is abroad. So, why not have them extend the gesture to what the currency feels like too?
Remind them of when you were in the trenches together
Make them nostalgic with throwback pictures of when you were both in Nigeria, then follow up with stories of how everything is hard and you need urgent ₦2k to see front. It’ll be in your account before sundown.
Offer to send them dry kponmo
It doesn’t even have to be kponmo, but something that’s hard for them to find abroad would definitely slap. Stockfish and Maggi cubes can work wonders.
Tell them you found land in the village
They want somewhere to tie down their dollars and pounds, and that’s where you come in. You can find them a piece of land in the village and bill them to pay for it. It might not be your money but at least it’ll touch your account.
Make it easy for them to send you money
Getting them to agree is one thing, but how you’ll receive the money is another. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot by not planning it well. Luckily, there’s Busha to help you take away the headache of receiving money from people abroad.
If you run a business, are a freelancer, or just need to receive crypto payments from abroad, you can easily get paid internationally using Busha Commerce. All you have to do is sign up on their website to get started.
You stop seeing the typical Nigerian tweets
So you mean no one is insulting another person’s daddy over a small disagreement? Where am I?
But you see “.eth” everywhere
Once you start seeing usernames that end with “(3,3)”, mentally take off your shoes and brace yourself. You’re at the entrance to crypto Twitter.
You don’t understand anything
Just know you’ll start seeing words that make no sense. You’ll scroll through your feed thinking “Wetin be FUD?” and “Which one is GMI again? Golden Morn?”
Everyone talks like they have money
It doesn’t matter that the market is down and everyone’s wallet is in tears. Once a rich person, always a rich person.
You start seeing “fiat” too often
On top of that, they constantly shade the paper money you still don’t have.
Memes… everywhere!
Nobody makes jokes like crypto folks. So, if you start seeing too many memes, you’re probably in crypto Twitter. Even if everything else vexes you, you can at least laugh at the memes.
They say if you can’t beat them, join them. To join crypto Twitter, you need to first own some crypto yourself. You can do this easily on the Luno app, which allows you buy cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum. Download the app and sign up to get started.
Crypto Dictionary
(3,3) – “Good morning”
FUD – Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt
Fiat – Paper currencies like naira, dollar etc.
GMI – “Gonna make it?”
Get your money up
You can’t “blow” with crypto in the true sense of it if you don’t have money to put in. So get the bag, stack up your cash, and get ready to lambo. If you don’t know what that means, You’re NGMI.
Learn about it
If you’ll make any money from crypto, you should at least know what it is. Do your research so the money you’re investing doesn’t turn into school fees for not knowing what you should know.
Find friends to invest with
You can’t find all the good stuff alone, so you need your friends to get into crypto with you. Where’s the joy in “blowing” alone anyway?
Have a strong mind
Crypto can be volatile, so you need to be the kind of person who won’t burst into tears after seeing their money drop 50% in one day. Because it can also do a backflip and turn into 100% in one night.
Buy the dip
Things are cheap now, and it’s the best time to get in. You don’t want to start running helter-skelter when people start screaming “To the moon!”.
Wait it out
You’re not going to blow in one day. So after putting money in, you still have to wait for the bull run to carry you “trabaye” like Asake said.
Use a good exchange to keep your coins safe
Safety is the most important thing in crypto. If you lose your coins, you lose everything. You need an exchange that won’t stress your life as you’re trying to lambo, and that’s where Bundle comes in. Bundle allows you to easily buy and trade over 80 cryptocurrencies, from Bitcoin to Ethereum and SHIBA. All you have to do is download the app and sign up to get started.
