Africa is a very large market and many areas have not really been touched so your chances of establishing a very profitable business there are very high.
I am from Africa and as a business person has had the opportunity to test several businesses that I believed would be profitable and it was.
If you really wish to make a lot of money b investing in a little business, then here are the 11 most profitable businesses I will advise anyone to venture into.
10 Profitable Businesses In Africa
Here are my top-rated most profitable businesses in Africa. In my country in Africa, I have tested some of this business and believe me, it works very well.
1. Solar Energy Business
There are at least 300 days of sunlight annually in many parts of Africa. As a result, solar power, which derives from the sun, is widely available throughout Africa. But a lot of African families still lack access to energy.
The fact that solar electricity is sustainable and cost-free is its main advantage. Millions of houses in Africa have received electricity thanks to the efforts of numerous enterprises. If you have a passion for sustainable energy, starting a firm in the solar power sector can be a good idea. One of Africa’s most abundant natural resources is solar energy. Over 300 days of free sunshine fall on the majority of sub-Saharan regions of Africa each year.
However, more than 600 million people on the continent lack consistent access to power, most of whom live in rural areas. Power outages are regular in most towns and cities, and people frequently use loud diesel and petrol diesel generators.
Solar energy is abundant, risk-free, and accessible. It is the best substitute for those who live in isolated parts of Africa without access to energy networks.
It’s interesting to note that some wealthiest businesspeople are attempting to brighten Africa with solar energy and are likely to be millionaires. I’ll provide you with a few intriguing examples.
Off Grid Electric, a Tanzanian solar energy firm earned $5 million from USAID and $25 million from investors globally.
Off Grid Electric is actively seeking to expand into Rwanda and provide solar energy to one million homes in East Africa by 2017.
Pay-as-you-go solar power system provider M-KOPA has secured financing that might total $40 million.
Thanks to this Kenyan company, more than 300,000 houses in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda have solar power.
2. Waste Management and Recycling Business
Africa generates a lot of rubbish every day. Most of them are burned, discarded in landfills, or dumped in bodies of water.
These people in the African population are having a problem with this. A long time ago, sanitation and hygiene were two of Africa’s issues. These problems will get worse if they are left unattended.
Fortunately, businesspeople in South Africa and Ethiopia developed a method for turning garbage into a helpful resource.
A South African technology called Agriprotein converts the trash gathered into animal feed. In Ethiopia, people turn waste from their towns into electricity by collecting it. This has enabled companies to supply electricity to millions of homes nationwide.
Africa will account for 40% of global population growth by 2050. As a result, more rubbish is anticipated to be produced.
Starting a waste recycling company will allow you to stop garbage before it builds up. Businesses can help the environment and the people of Africa by recycling their waste.
3. Battery Recycling For Small-Scale Solar Energy Business
Millions of homes in Africa have recently received electricity thanks to the off-grid pay-as-you-go (or PayGo) solar energy business. What was once a tiny and obscure sector is now developing into a sizable enterprise.
M-Kopa Solar, PEG Africa, Lumos Global, and Zola Electric are a few of the best-known businesses in this industry. Their kits often include:
A solar panel.
A battery.
Additional equipment like light bulbs.
An electric torch.
A mobile phone charger.
A radio.
However, there are some minor variations among these companies’ offers. Digital television is also included in some packages.
The recycling of batteries in the systems has been proposed as a spin-off from the home solar panel sector by several stakeholders.
If the company expands in the way that many would like it to and batteries are not properly disposed of, it could potentially have disastrous effects on the environment.
4. Style & Beauty Business
The fashion and beauty industries in Africa are expanding quickly. The significant and young population of the continent creates a sizable market for cutting-edge clothing.
Every type of apparel is produced locally, and Africa’s constantly expanding urban areas have a high demand for imported designer labels.
Young celebrities from Africa are creating successful enterprises in the beauty and fashion industries. I’ll provide you with a few intriguing examples.
Suzie Wokabi is one of the most well-known businesswomen in Africa who is breaking into the personal and beauty sector, which is currently dominated by global powerhouses like Unilever, Procter & Gamble, L’Oral, and Mary Kay.
She founded Suzie Beauty Cosmetics in Kenya around seven months ago, and it has since become incredibly well-known.
Another exemplary entrepreneur, Kunmi Otitoju, has built an excellent company through her high-end line, Minku.
Her new business, Minku, creates high-end leather bags from Aso-oke, a finely woven fabric manufactured by the Yoruba people in Nigeria.
Luxury stores in Nigeria have taken an immediate liking to her innovative creations. There is an impressive list of promising African businesspeople building successful brands in the fashion sector. It will be interesting to follow this industry.
5. Smartphones Selling Business
The phone in the image might be one of the Obi World phone models, a low-cost phone made by African customers.
It is retailing for around $129 and is in high demand. Second, only to Asia in terms of fastest-growing smartphone markets in Africa.
However, the initial stage of Africa’s mobile phone revolution is almost over. African consumers are currently looking to replace their first-generation phones with newer models.
It is not unexpected that Africa has a growing youth population that is tech aware and stylish, which has led to the development of a multi-billion dollar smartphone market.
The average African cannot afford several current smartphones, such as the iPhone, Blackberry, and Samsung.
Due to this, a significant market for inexpensive smartphones is entering the African market. Even better, many of these devices include an Android operating system, comparable capabilities, and a sophisticated design to premium cellphones.
Over a dozen low-cost smartphone firms have debuted in the African market in 18 months. The phones in issue have immense potential, which will probably make more billionaires out of the owners of the companies behind these brands.
6. Retail Business
The Mall of Africa opened in South Africa in April of this year.
The enormous 131,000 square meters of retail space was constructed all at once, making it the largest outlet mall in Africa.
Nairobi, Kenya’s The Two Rivers mall, has opened. The largest shopping center of its kind may be found in East Africa.
Local and international grocery chains, including Shoprite, Game, Checkers, Woolworths, Edgars, and Spar, are expanding worldwide as they vie for the limited space in infrastructure projects for retail and shopping.
Amazingly, physical stores aren’t the only front in Africa’s battle for retail supremacy. eCommerce behemoths like Konga and Jumia have expanded dramatically in recent years.
The total income of the two web retailers exceeds $1 billion. Beyond the boundaries of the continent, new competitors are entering the African retail industry.
Africans now can make direct purchases from stores in the USA, UK, and China, thanks to new eCommerce companies like Mall for Africa and Shop to my Door.
Africa currently has one of the world’s fastest-growing retail markets. The retail tendency is spreading across the continent due to the expanding middle class, the power of the local economy, and an increase in foreign-born labourers.
7. Internet Entertainment and the Media
Africa’s film industry has developed into a global phenomenon with enormous popularity on and off the continent.
The market caters to a larger audience willing to watch African love, drama, adventure, comedy, redemption, action, and more stories.
It is hardly surprising that Bollywood in India and Hollywood are the two largest film industries in the world, respectively.
A Nigerian love story called “Omo Ghetto: The Story” will be published in 2020. Africa produces hundreds of movies every year, but this one completely altered the landscape.
“Omo Ghetto: The Saga” made over N636,129,120 in Nigeria in the shortest time after its release! It’s the most profit an African movie has ever made!
This is fantastic news for Africa and indicates that there will be more hugely successful blockbusters! Not simply the African film business is expanding.
Also, famous today is African music! A fresh wave of young and promising musicians is sweeping the continent, from Nigeria to South Africa.
The year 2022 will undoubtedly be exciting for the African entertainment sector!
8. Web & Technology Business
In 2022, the African internet and technology sector will be fascinating to follow.
All over the continent, from Accra (Ghana) to Lagos (Nigeria), Johannesburg (South Africa), and Nairobi, tech incubators and hubs are blooming (Kenya).
These centers, termed Africa’s Silicon Valley, continue to draw the brightest businesspeople and technological innovators the continent has ever seen.
The purchase of Saya, a mobile messaging service created by two Ghanaian entrepreneurs at the beginning of their careers, has been in the news for the past few months.
The straightforward software for feature phones was created in 2011 and was first intended to replace SMS texts. It swiftly gained popularity throughout West Africa and even in far-off India!
Saya is just one of the several success tales from the internet and technology sector in Africa.
African businesspeople are using the Internet and technology to address issues and challenges throughout the continent.
From smartphone payments to taxi solutions and motorbike delivery services, African digital businesses are overflowing with possibilities.
HotStop.com, a navigation service founded by Nigerian businessman Chinedu Echeruo, was purportedly purchased by Apple Inc. for $1 billion just a few weeks ago as part of Apple’s initiatives to improve its mobile and online mapping infrastructure.
9. Tourism Industry Business In Cote d’Ivoire
By 2025, Cote d’Ivoire is expected to rank as Africa’s fifth most popular tourist destination, according to a strategy document released last year by Saidou Fafara, the Ivorian Minister of Tourism. The strategy will be centered on nine new significant projects that will cost $6 billion for it to complete.
The Abidjan Business City is one of them. This will act as a focal point for holding conventions in Cote d’Ivoire. We don’t have an event facility or a space big enough to hold 5,000 people. As a result, you must act quickly in this area,” he stated.
We will also have a beautiful beach that is open to everyone and a 550-kilometer stretch of coastline that has not yet been thoroughly utilized. In addition, we’ll build a 100-hectare recreation area to host events and organize press tours for the entire sub-region.
The government plans to improve health and security, develop the aviation industry, increase the flow of passengers through airports by up to three million, and prepare and certify 230,000 professionals from various and numerous fields. The strategies include strengthening tourist laws and creating additional tourist attractions, including a reserve of 6,000 hectares. It also proposes establishing a tourism-related bank project and redesigning a one-stop shop for tourism.
10. Maize and Wheat Milling Business
Both are high-yielding and are widely distributed in many African countries. Maize meal (also known as ugali, mealie, obusuma, or ngima meal) is commonly consumed by consumers in East and Southern Africa.
For these countries in sub-Saharan Africa, milling wheat and maize presents three extremely lucrative commercial opportunities:
Many African nations grow maize and wheat because they can afford raw ingredients.
The second factor is the already relatively high consumer demand for maize meals and flour, which is growing due to population growth in Tanzania, where ugali (a dish made from maize flour) is a typical dish.
The third is that factory operating procedures aren’t overly complicated, the machines used are dependable, and workers may start working after obtaining some training.
All businesspeople from Africa are welcome to start milling firms; all you need is a flat piece of land with electricity, and you buy maize and wheat from rural farmers. The finished goods are packaged following your clients’ specifications (1kg, 5kg – 10kg – 50kg).
Istanbul Africa Trade Company provides turnkey solutions, equipment installation, and employee training for milling projects. The facilities include the whole processing line and silos used for storing.
11. Services For Tech-Assisted Education Business
A report by the World Bank titled The Untapped Opportunities for trade in Services in Africa offers new commercial opportunities that are emerging in fields like franchising and the pairing of academic programs, which allow students to earn credit for university courses. There is a lot of potential for education services. Additionally, the lockdown caused by the coronavirus epidemic has increased the opportunities for technologically-aided educational services.
These online educational services work as partnerships or franchises with local business owners to provide similar educational opportunities to those you would receive at universities abroad, without considering travel and related costs. You’ve probably seen ads offering the chance to earn a UK university degree in the comfort of your own home. African students pay millions of dollars each year to study abroad.
There is a significant amount of money to be earned in online education in Africa, as well as enormous possibilities in online learning tools, learning solutions, and technological solutions for secondary, primary, postsecondary, and corporate schools.
Bottom Line
These are the most profitable businesses in Africa right now, you can make a lot of money starting this businesses in any part of Africa.