Located in the North-West geopolitical zone of Nigeria, Kaduna is one of the Northern states where successive governments have shown great commitment to boosting investment in the state.
This article sheds light on the business opportunities in Kaduna for interested investors who are looking at ways to penetrate the various resources in the state and make significant contributions to the economy of Kaduna State.
Caution: The activities of terrorists in Kaduna forest, especially the Southern Kaduna, portends dangers for business activities in the state. We urge investors to avoid areas that are notorious for kidnapping and violence.
Having done a security check on the parts of the state that are safe for investment, let’s explore some of the business ideas you can dive right in.
Table of Contents
Tomato Paste Factory
In June 2021, the Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute (NSPRI) revealed that a total of 105,000 metric tonnes of tomatoes worth over N16 billion were imported into Nigeria between 2018 and 2020.
NSPRI is supervised by one of the agencies of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN).
The sub-agency said the importation became a necessity to bridge the deficit gap between supply and demand in Nigeria.
This is a business opportunity for investors because Kaduna State lies within the geographical zone best suited for tomato farming. There is also a low occurrence rate for diseases and pests affecting tomatoes in Kaduna
Foreign Exchange Business
This business involves the buying and selling of foreign currencies like the US dollar, pounds sterling, EUR, and Yen among other currencies.
As you know, a lot of Nigerians need forex to meet their business needs for foreign school fees payment, FX for foreign medical attention among others.
What makes this interesting is that the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) is unable to meet the needs of Nigerian forex needs, thereby creating a huge forex market opportunity for FX traders.
You can start this business in Kaduna because a lot of them who travel out of the country prefer to source FX in Kaduna or Zaria before heading to Abuja to catch the flight.
Caution: Forex trading is highly volatile. You can make millions within minutes and you can also lose millions within seconds. Watch the market and factors that could shift the price FX.
Dairy Production
By the number of cattle, and goats in Nigeria, one would think that there wouldn’t be a need to import dairy products into Nigeria.
Unfortunately, data released by Tetra Pak, a food processing firm in 2021 reveals that 86% of milk consumed in Nigeria is imported, meaning Nigeria is able to produce just 16% of dairy consumption.
This is an investment eye-opener for investors who want to invest in dairy production in Kaduna State because. The state houses more than 2 million heads of cattle, according to KADIPA data.
Companies like Jamil Farms, Niyya Farms, and Zaidi Farms are already doing well in dairy production, but they don’t have the capacity to meet the local needs of Nigerians in milk and other dairy products.
Computer Sales Business
You can also start a business that entails selling computers in Kaduna State. As expected, this is something that is very capital intensive, since you will have to spend a lot of money getting these products in bulk so you can sell them in pieces for profit.
Cassava Flour Factory
Don’t be surprised that Nigeria spends at least 600 million USD on the importation of cassava derivatives annually, data from CBN reveals.
That’s to show how important cassava is in the production of flour, animal feed, and starches for sizing paper and textiles among others.
As an investor, you can establish a cassava flour factory in Kaduna, the sources are already because Kaduna is the largest producer of cassava in North-West Nigeria. The state produces over 2 million tonnes, amounting to 85% of cassava in the region.
It’s important to point out that you must have the right connection with farmers, and create a platform for them to bring their products directly to your factory to eliminate the issue of middlemen.
Petroleum Products Distribution Business
The source of the power of most of the corporate organisations in Zaria, Kaduna and other cities in Kaduna State is generator.
They need diesel and motor spirit, this is a business opportunity for someone who wants to leverage the existence of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC), a subsidiary of the National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Bakery
Setting up a standard bakery requires huge capital. For instance, a professional electric oven is between NGN1,000,000 to NGN2,000,000. This is aside from the cost of space and other expenses.
However, you can start on a small scale, a small bread maker machine is between NGN65,000 to NGN120,000.
In short, the bakery business is lucrative in Kaduna. Make your products high quality, you will get a lot of resellers who would like to sign up for your products.
Mobile Phone Accessories
You will easily find many developed areas in Kaduna where you can open mobile phone accessories. And definitely, Kaduna, the state capital, Zaria are the best locations for his kind of business.
Food Distribution Business
Nigerians are moving away from the days of going to market to receiving foodstuffs at home and Kaduna state is not an exception.
This business is not capital intensive as you’d always recoup your investment especially when you already have a great customer base who trust you and the foodstuffs you deliver.
Fast Food Business
A lot of office workers are so busy that most of them don’t have the luxury of time to cook, their best point is fast food.
The best location for this are Kaduna and Zaria and you can take a step further by making it possible for customers to place and deliver to their offices.
Educational Consulting Service
Kaduna has tons of top-grade higher institutions in Nigeria. Therefore, you can take advantage of this uniqueness to create a business revolving offering educational consulting services.
Corporate Cleaning Business
The simple task is to provide cleaning services for the cleaning needs of corporate organization and private individuals for cleaning purposes.
Boutique Business
Kaduna is more liberal than several others, and many people embrace western fashion. Note that there are tons of well-to-do people here that can afford to travel outside the country for shopping. Some folks travel to places like Dubai to shop for clothes.
Therefore, you can take the step to invest in a boutique in one of the famous cities in the state. Make sure you get superb clothes of high quality and those that can give priority to such will patronize you.
Taxi Business
Because of the insecurity in Kaduna state, the only viable places for investment in the taxi business that can bring the needed return are Zaria and Kaduna, the state capital.
Laundry Business
In the 1990s, the dry cleaning business was majorly done by those who are not educated. The story has changed, there are Master’s Degree holders who now run standard dry cleaning business.
Dry cleaning business is lucrative and you can start in Kaduna and fairly safe places in the state to meet the needs of corporate workers who are too busy to take care of the laundry.
Sales of Building Materials
There are several developing areas in parts of the state, thereby creating a market for the sales of building materials.
Beverage Factory
Because of the abundant production of fruits in Kaduna, it’s a great place to site beverage factory.
Security Services
The security situation in Kaduna state is turbulent as terrorists have carved for themselves a base in the large forest in the troubled state.
The Nigerian security outfits are overwhelmed by the activities of criminals across Kaduna and its environs.
As such, building a formidable security outfit that provides security services to people by using modern technology would be worth the investment.
E-commerce Management
Kaduna has gone digital going by the innovation of the government to establish Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency (KADIPA).
You can leverage this to create a platform to give access to prospective foreign buyers to what you sell in Nigeria right online.
If you are able to build trust and a formidable online platform, you would be amazed by the number of sesame farmers and other agric products list their products on your e-commerce platform. Think about this fantastic business idea in Kaduna state.
Business Development Services
If you are a registered agent of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), you can make cool cash by helping new businesses to register their business names.
And help existing firms to file annual returns and offer other services that relate to business management.
Sources:
- Featured Image by The Sun Nigeria
- The Nation (July 22, 2021). “Nigeria spends $1.5b on dairy products imports yearly”. thenationonlineng.net
- Ibrahim Musa Giginyu (June 9, 2021). “Tomato Import Gulped N16bn In 2 Years – NSPRI”. dailytrust.com
- KADIPA. “Map of Kaduna“. kadipa.kdsg.gov.ng
