Success lies within you! It doesn’t require a large office or a big team or huge amount of capital. It can start from the comfort of your home as well. Check out this slide for the top 10 successful businesses in Africa, that you can start from home.

4. 1. Live Stock Breeding
Image courtesy: ekoniva-apk.ru

5. Live Stock Breeding
• Nigeria, with a population of 15 Crores, comprises mainly beef and mutton
eaters.
• There is ample potential for livestock breeding, livestock feed production and
equipment selling.
• If one is already into agriculture or horticulture then this will be one of the best
additional activity which will help in getting hugely required bio fertilizer though
animal dung.
• The venture can be started in limited investment but the key prerequisite will be
improved animal breeding regime through improved and better feeding
techniques.

6. 2. Poultry Farming

7. Poultry Farming
• Taking in to account the liking for chickens and eggs by almost entire big
population of Africa, there exists a huge market for poultry products.
• One advantage of this business is, chickens are ready for Market in 28-30
weeks. Less time span helps investors garner ROI quickly and thereby repay
loan easily as investment maturity is relatively faster.
• In Nigeria on an average chicken is worth 2000-2500Naira. Meanwhile, the
egg market continues to be attractive with its huge demand.

8. 3. Rice Farming
Image courtesy: rwandacentral.com

9. Rice Farming
• The requirement of rice in the whole of Africa especially Nigeria is so high that
Government is forced to import rice.
• This has resulted in Government policies like NFSP to support rice
production.
• The crop cycle is less than 4 months for harvesting hence gives quick returns.
• Rice is also a high yield crop and if one keeps abreast with globally followed
better farming practices then substantially higher returns can be obtained from
not so big holdings also.

10. 4. Internet Based Companies

11. Internet Based Companies
• This is one business identified by analysts as a way of getting maximum
return on investment.
• The market here can be domestic as well as international. The reach of
internet makes this business an attractive proposition.
• Some of the internet based businesses which entrepreneurs can explore
are Website designers, E-commerce, Promoting copyright products, and
Social media marketing.

12. 5. Water Purification

13. Water Purification
• Steady increase in population is adding to the water woes.
Therefore one can explore the option of portable water purification
business.
• Currently two ways of delivering drinking water exist i.e. through
bottles and sachets. Sachets seem to be more affordable for the
poor.
• The setup capital expected to be between 5 -10 Million Naira.
Another advantage of investing in this business is ease of getting
loan from banks.

14. 6. Furniture Business

15. Furniture Business
• In Nigeria, new offices and houses are coming up in urban areas in large
numbers thereby opening big market for furniture and furnishing.
• If you see the industry, Nigerian furniture is more affordable than imported
designer furniture.
• Analyst say 200000Naira is the minimum capital requirement to start the
furniture business.
• Three major requirements for this business are Raw materials, Equipments and
skilled Carpenters.
• The showroom can be one’s household if it has adequate space for show room
and works

16. 7. Restaurant Business

17. Restaurant Business
• Entrepreneurs can target small scale restaurants to start with which will
require low startup capital.
• Industry experts say that with 300000 Naira you can start a local restaurant in
Nigeria. The profit returns are also high in this industry.
• Minimum requirements here are location, utensils and other instruments,
furniture, and an excellent cook.
.

18. 8. Stitching and Tailoring
Image courtesy: www.stitchesuk.co.uk

19. Stitching and Tailoring
• The number of Schools in Africa is increasing day by day. There are over 500
schools in Lagos state in Nigeria alone. These schools need uniform for their
students.
• In addition the uniform requirements are huge for Civil, Defense, Police Force
and other Security Personnel, The persons employed with utility services like
transport and Hospitals also require uniform.
• Such a huge demand cannot be met by few companies and if one can
position as a uniform supplier it can be a lucrative business.

20. 9. Security company
Image courtesy: bulksecureservices.com

21. Security company
• With the increase in security threat perceptions the need for providing good
security services is also increasing.
• The Government is trying to ensure security for every citizen but the
increasing crime graph and lawlessness has created a situation where the
security can only be ensured though joint efforts of Governments and
corporates.
• There is scope for setting up Security service providing company/ agency. At
the same time the security products and safety devices can be procured and
sold as well, making it an attractive business.

22. 10. Outsourced bus service
Image courtesy: commons.wikimedia.org

23. Outsourced bus service
• Opening of more and more Schools, offices, training and other institutions
has created a vast market for human transport business in Africa.
• One can provide transportation services to organizations which cannot afford
to buy a vehicle in-house or even at many times hiring a vehicle is more
economical and viable option than owning a vehicle.
• Providing human transport services can be a pretty good business option as
it will require providing a bus and a driver for one or more institutions at a
time and can be easily managed from home without hiring any additional
accommodation.

25. Mara Foundation’s Ambition
We enable, inspire and empower ambitious entrepreneurs in Africa. With the support of our Mara Mentors we will:
Inspire millions of young people in Africa to become
entrepreneurs.
Teach entrepreneurs new skills.
Enable entrepreneurs to turn business ideas into a
reality.
Guide business owners to grow businesses and hire
(more) employees.
Empower entrepreneurs by providing a platform to
showcase their business and build their network.

26. THANK YOU
Website: mentor.mara.com
App: iTunes, Blackberry, Android, and Nokia.
Customer Support: support@mentor.mara.com
Mara Foundation is supported by a
number of partners, including: