How To Start A Side Hustle In Nigeria

With the ever-dwindling Nigerian economy, linked to the overwhelming constant negative turnout of events, as influenced by the deplorable governing system Nigerians have been unfortunate to have over the years, the importance of having multiple streams of income, as a Nigerian, cannot be overemphasized. Hence, the need to have a side hustle that can stand as a passive income source.
However, until one is equipped with the mental wherewithal on the ideal path to thread, efforts made are most likely going to end in futility. This article is tailored to give insight into how to start a side hustle in Nigeria. Let’s take a sneak peek.
Starting A Side Hustle In Nigeria; What You Need To Know

One of the most important aspects of starting a side hustle in Nigeria is understanding the compatibility of your main job and the side hustle you intend to venture into. As much as you want to make extra cash, it becomes a problem when your side hustle starts to contend with your productivity at your main job.
These are the important questions you must ask before picking a side hustle; how much of my time will this demand? Is it as mentally tasking or possibly twice as much as that of my current job? How well can I divide my attention and juggle these two income streams? If an intended side hustle ticks the boxes of these asked questions, then you’re good to go.
What Are The Easiest Side Hustle For A Nigerian?
Some of the easiest and time-worthy side hustles to start in Nigeria are:
- Starting a blog
- Crypto trading
- Become a freelance writer
- Become a vlogger
- Rent out your car
1. Starting a blog
Starting a blog is a good side hustle. Although the initial stage of it is tasking, it pays in the long run if you stick to the rules that be and put in the work. The idea of blogging means creating written content on a personal website and monetizing it via ads or selling personal products.
Firstly, you must be financially buoyant enough to an extent to start a blog as a side hustle, otherwise, it’ll demand your attention. With money, you can pay writers to do the work. Without which you’ll have to do it yourself, and this will take your time, and most probably affect your main job. Here’s a breakdown.
Stage 1.
To begin, you must be very fluent in SEO (search engine optimization). You can take courses on it prior to starting a blog. This would give you a clear insight into creating blog content that can appear early enough on the SERPs (search engine result pages), as well as being relevant to searchers as these are the core aims and integral part of blogging.
With this, you stand a chance of having a higher CTR (click-through rate).
Stage 2.
Choose a niche. What’s your area of interest? There are literally hundreds of niches to choose from, ranging from relationships, health, technology, education, finance, fashion, science, medicine, etc.
Stage 3.
Next, you need to choose a domain name. The domain name is the name that appears on the search box when you log into a website. And, ideally, you choose a catchy one and preferably a double-syllabic one that can easily stick to searchers’ memories. However, there is competition on this end, a domain name you choose might already be in existence, leaving you to opt for a different one.
Stage 4.
At this stage, you’ll have to choose a web host. You need an entity that should host your website. The good thing is, there’s a plethora of options to choose from. Thereon, further, give the website a customized design. Make sure the technical SEO aspects of your website are in good shape as well.
Stage 5.
At this stage, you can begin to publish well-written and detailed articles that follow the algorithmic guidelines laid out by Google. Thereafter, apply to monetize the website. Adsense is one of the best options out there.
2. Crypto Trading
Crypto trading is one of the means to earn passive income as a side hustle in Nigeria. This is the reason Nigeria stands in third place worldwide for trading Bitcoin. Although the volatility level of cryptocurrencies is second to none. So it becomes imperative that you do your due diligence and understand what Influences what market behavior and make investments from an informed place.
Know what crypto platform is ideal for what use. For instance, while there’s a massive move to Binance as one of the best crypto facilities, Dart Africa suffices better for the conversion of your crypto to local currency.

3. Become a freelance writer
Since there are not many bloggers who have the time to write the number of content that is needed for their websites, you can offer writing services and get paid for it. However, on this end, not just any writer is hired, you must be SEO-inclined. This brings you to take SEO courses.
You could start up being an intern so that you get trained by experienced minds who can sharpen you with a healthy dose of guidelines. This would help you to become a better SEO writer. Thereafter, you can apply for writing jobs.
4. Become a vlogger
The term “vlog” is a portmanteau of “video” and “blog”, it simply translates to a blogger with solely video content as opposed to written ones. So, this question is, what is it that you love to do which could be catchy enough to garner views that can help with monetizing your vlog?
You can be a vlogger on YouTube and across monetizable social media platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, etc. The cool thing with vlogging is, if you’re able to build your vlogging account to have a good number of followers, you don’t rely solely on the platform to pay you as you can as well take up advert gigs.
Conclusion
Getting a side hustle in Nigeria is pretty important as relying on one could be risky. However, whatever option you decide to settle for, weigh the advantages and disadvantages to have a strong reality dose. What could be the potential risk involved? A good instance is a case of renting out your car as a side hustle. Conclusively, always do your research; ask questions from a variety of experienced people.