“Make money online” – three words that often trigger raised eyebrows in Nigeria. For many, it sounds like the beginning of a scam story.
We have all heard the stories, or perhaps even fallen prey to them, fostering a deep-seated skepticism that online wealth is nothing but a mirage.
Yet, amidst this landscape of caution, a quiet revolution is taking root. Across Lagos and beyond, a new wave of entrepreneurs like Adeshina (surname withheld) are not just earning money online; they are building thriving ecommerce empires from one direct message to hundreds of orders at a time, creating legitimate wealth and even providing employment to others.
Nigerian e-commerce beyond the big players
When most people think of ecommerce in Nigeria, they think of big names like Jumia and Konga. Yet, beneath their towering presence, a more intimate and deeply personal revolution is flourishing on our smartphone screens.
This is the realm of the “social commerce” entrepreneur, like business owners, artisans, and middlemen, who are leveraging everyday platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp to build empires.
This isn’t about venture capital or large-scale warehouses or stores. It is about creativity, a steady internet connection, and the relentless Nigerian spirit to hustle, leveraging the internet to build empires worth millions of naira.
How it started
Adeshina began his ecommerce business right from his room in 2020. Armed with the knowledge of Facebook and Instagram adverts, he began running adverts on these platforms to sell luxury products and unique kitchen utensils. However, orders for these items don’t come regularly.
Some days he would sell one or two, while most days he would go without a single order. Also, the stress was more than the return on investment.
“Due to the stress and other things, I fell ill. Most medications available for my illness come with side effects, and I don’t want to put myself into additional problems while trying to treat myself, so I started researching natural remedies,” he said. That was how he stumbled into the world of herbal solutions.
Turning Herbs into Digital Income
That curiosity became a full-blown hustle in 2023. After months of researching and asking questions, he noticed that most herbal remedies that treat serious illness are available locally, but not many people know about this online, and there are a lot of people in need of these solutions. That led to him sourcing tested and trusted herbal products locally while running adverts to sell online.
Then, he sells between 50 to 100 monthly, budgeting about N10,000 in daily advert spend. However, now, that becomes his daily average orders from customers, budgeting millions on advert spend monthly, delivers nationwide, and earns between N500,000 to N1,000,000 profit monthly, with plans to scale up profit and customer satisfaction already on the way.
“Our work is mostly about creatives,” he said. He explained that he runs an advert on Facebook to get customers, and oftentimes these advert creatives enter into fatigue quickly, and the performance of the advert is often affected. That is why they need graphic designers on standby designing images to push out regularly.
As orders increased, he realized he couldn’t do everything himself, so he began building a team. He now has about 10 employees, from customer service representatives, an accountant, graphic designers, to a digital marketer.
He noted that the business has not been entirely smooth as it comes with its fair share of challenges.
The Reality: Hurdles and Headaches
He highlighted that one of the major challenges plaguing the ecommerce space in Nigeria is logistics. He noted that there are days that after reassuring the customers that their orders are on the way, he gets a late call from the rider notifying him that they couldn’t make the delivery for one reason or the other.
He stressed that handling disappointed customers can be mentally draining, although he has built a network of trusted dispatch riders to prevent this, the disappointment still resurfaces occasionally.
Also, there is the prevalent trust issue, despite the growing popularity of online shopping, most customers will never part with their money until they receive the products, leading to the offering of Payment-on-Delivery.
“However, this is also challenging as some customers could stop picking up calls or responding to messages after the rider has gotten to their locations causing failed deliveries and some of the logistics charge for failed deliveries,” Adeshina noted.
The low barrier to entry makes the e-commerce space highly competitive, standing out requires continuous innovation, creative marketing, and unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction.
Despite the rising cost of living, everyday frustration, and the daily uncertainty of doing business in Nigeria, there are still people making it and they are not just making it, they are making it big, moving from investing N5,000 daily budget in adverts to budgeting millions in adverts spend.
While also contributing to the economy by providing jobs to customer service, graphics designers, media buyers, logistics, and others. Sometimes, all you need is a smartphone, a strong why, and the courage to try.
