Nigeria’s exchange rate crisis pushes demand for bitcoin upward

August 19, 2020

Nigeria’s exchange rate crisis is pushing many business owners towards bitcoin (BTC) as a preferred means of buying goods from manufacturers outside the country.

The pressure on naira is projected to be heading towards N480 per dollar later this week. As of Monday morning, the dollar traded N477/$, representing an N2 depreciation compared with N475 sold the previous day on the black market. The weakening in the value of the naira is said to be due to high demand by end-users amid dollar scarcity.

For businesses, the weakening means more pressure as they are unable to get dollars to buy new supplies or order necessary equipment abroad. While the queue in the official market gets frustratingly longer, Bureau De Change (BDC) operators, which are usually the better alternatives, are also unable to meet up with demands for dollars despite selling it at very high rates.

Thus, in recent times a few BDC operators have tried to take education in bitcoin operation.

“Many of them are coming to ask us how it works, and the ones that already know are switching to BTC for international trade,” a source in one of the exchanges in Nigeria, informs Businessday on condition of anonymity.

Bitcoin has been attracting institutional attention since the beginning of the year. The COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected the economies of many countries negatively, has also served to cement the importance of the cryptocurrency as an alternative means of exchange. Peer-to-peer trading volume in bitcoin in countries like Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, and Morocco peaked marking new all-time highs in the month of April.

A study released in May by the Tokenist showed that there was a growing trust in bitcoin over traditional investments like gold, stocks and real estate. The market researchers leveraged a survey that was taken in April 2020 (5,421 participants in 24 countries) and collated several surveys from 2017 as well.

In Nigeria, demand for bitcoin has continued to set records. According to a report by Blockchain.com, Nigeria was the leading country in the second quarter of 2020 in peer-to-peer bitcoin transactional trades valued at $34.4 million on the African continent. Following Nigeria was South Africa; Kenya ($7.8m); Ghana ($640,000), and Tanzania ($600,000).

“There are certainly a lot more use-cases for bitcoin in Nigeria,” Yele Badamosi, CEO of Bundle, an Africa-focused social payments app for cash and cryptocurrencies, told Businessday.

Culled from BusinessDay

30 Home Based Business with low investment

obbuuz

August 18, 2020

Leaving a 9 to 5 job and starting own business is a dream seen by millions of the people. However, very few can pursue their dream. This is mainly due to lack of business acumen or requirement of capital for starting own business.

Here are Amazing Business Ideas with Low Investment You Can Run From Home:

Product Based Business Ideas
#1 Insurance Agency

You can become an insurance agent and open your own insurance agency to earn money part-time. You need to sell insurance policies to the customer to get commission income. You can sell life insurance, health insurance, and general insurance policies.

#2 Network Marketing

A first home based business idea is to join a networking marketing company. It is a zero investment part-time business. In this business, you need to sell products of network marketing companies. You will get a commission for this. The success of this business depends upon your networking skill & social contacts.
#3 Chocolate Making

Chocolate making is a very good home based business idea for women. In this business, you need to make chocolate at home. The raw material and recipe for making chocolate are easily available. You need to market your business well to get success in this business.

#4 Customized Gift Store

The customized Gift store is next on the list. In this business, you need to prepare customized gifts for the customers. Few examples are a photo frame, printed t-shirt, printed mug, stationery items, etc. You should be creative and expert in making a gift.

#5 Home Bakery

Home bakery business means a business of backed items such as bread, cookies, cake at home. If you are expert in cooking and make baked items you can start this business. You need to establish contacts with local stores for selling your homemade products.

#6 Candle Making

Candles are used exclusively as decorative items as well as for religious purpose. Candles are easy to make and require a minimum investment. At an initial stage, you may face challenges in establishing a candle making business. You need to work hard for selling candles.

#7 Dry Breakfast

One of the simple home based business ideas is dry breakfast or nasta business. It is more suitable for female, however male with cooking knowledge can also start this business. The success rate associated with this business is very high.

#8 Used Book Store

The education field is evergreen field. Books are used widely in the education field. Many students prefer to used books to save money. So, starting used book store at home could be a very good business option. The investment required for this business is very low.

#9 Detergent Making

Detergent is FMCG item and used in every house for washing cloth. If you have expertise in manufacturing of detergent you can start this business. You need to work at the packaging and marketing your products. Make sure to study domestic demand and completion before entering this business.

#10 Papad & Pickle Making

Papad & Pickle making is very good home based business idea for women. Papad & Pickle making can be started from home. In this business, you need to make order based papad and pickle. You can sell papad and pickle in the local market as well as international market.

Service Based Business Ideas

#11 Appliance Repairing Services

A breakdown in the home appliance such as TV, Fridge, washing machine and geyser are very common. People always seek help for the repair of home appliances. In order to address this problem, you can start the appliance repairing service business. You need to employee two-three people for offering these services.

#12 Beauty Parlor

Female with experience and knowledge in beauty treatment can open own beauty parlor at home. If you are not aware of beauty treatment it is better to do some course before starting beauty parlor.

#13 Accounting Services

Finance and accounting service is next on the list of home based business. Accounting services business requires knowledge of accounting and associated software. Most of the small and medium organization outsource finance and accounting services.

#14 Match Maker

Matchmaking or marriage bureau is next in the list. This business is suitable for female. You require a database of a male and female candidate for marriage. Initially, you need to place a lot of efforts for this business.

#15 Mobile/Computer Repairing

Mobile & computer repairing is a very good business option. You can start this business from home. You need to do a course of mobile and computer repairing before starting this business. Mobile and computer repairing is one of the best business with very good market potential.

#16 Tuition Class

Tuition class is one of the best part-time home based business ideas which can be started from home. In this business, you need to give coaching to the students. You should be expert in teaching various subjects. You need to invest money for buying blackboard and benches.

#17 Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a popular online business option. In affiliate marketing, you need to sell products and services of your affiliate company. You will be paid with a commission on every sale. You can use WhatsApp, Facebook or your own website for affiliate marketing.

#18 Travel Agency

A travel agency is a business where you need to arrange a travel plan and book ticket and hotel for the people. You can open a travel agency at home. It is a good idea to opt for the franchisee of already established travel agencies.

#19 Yoga Instructor

Yoga instructor is a new and lucrative career option. You can become yoga instructor by doing yoga course. Once you learn yoga you can start your own yoga class.

#20 Event Planner

Event planning is a business where you do the planning and execution of big events. If you are good at management and planning skills you can become an event planner. It is a good option where you can earn a lot of money.

Online Business Ideas

#21 Content Writing

Content writing is a part-time home based business idea. Many bloggers and website are looking for a good content writer. In this idea, you need to produce unique content for bloggers or website owner. You will get money for the content written by you. The amount depends upon the type of content and word count.

#22 Starting Youtube Channel

You can start a YouTube channel and make money. You need to upload unique videos on the channel. You can use high-quality camera or software for making videos. Once your channel reaches recommended subscribers you can apply for the YouTube Channel Partner program for placing advertisements on your videos.

#23 Real Estate Agency

Real estate agency is a business option where you need to help people in buying, selling or renting properties. You can earn good commission income via real estate business.

#24 Virtual Assistant

A virtual assistant is a job profile where you need to assist online in completing various jobs such as sending e-mail, typing documents, data entry, office work, etc. You will be paid on an hourly basis. There are many online websites offering the job of virtual assistant.

#25 Online Consultancy

Online consultancy is next in the list of home based business idea. Here you need to make your own website offering online consultancy. Alternately, you can search for the website offering consultancy jobs to people.

#26 SEO Consultancy

Search Engine Optimization is pressing need nowadays. Webmasters and website owner are ready to spend money for good SEO services. If you have learned SEO or know SEO you can start your SEO consultancy business online. There are many people who are earning their lives on SEO consultancy.

#27 Blogging

Blogging is one of my favorite online business ideas. In blogging, you need to make your online blog and share unique content on it. Once your blog gets the popularity you can earn money via advertising or affiliate marketing.

#28 Online Courses & Teaching

This idea is for a skilled person with good educational background. In this idea, you need to start your own website and put an online course. You can charge a visitor on a subscription basis. Another option here is to join websites offering these types of services.

#29 Online E-commerce Store

Online E-commerce store is a place where people can buy and sell their products and services. It is a very good idea but requires a team of competent people and moderate investment. You need to face a lot of competition in this business.

#30 Freelancing

Freelancing is first in the list of online business ideas. Freelancing is a very good business. Freelancing means doing projects online and earning on a project basis. The projects are mostly related to IT-related such as website development, SEO, data entry project, etc.

Building Financial Fitness with Action

obbuuz

August 17, 2020

The key to making lasting, positive change in our lives is learning how to put knowledge into action. But how? How does one find the motivation to exercise or to get out of debt? The answer is kind of counter-intuitive. Fitness requires action, not just knowledge. Wealth is built by spending less than you earn. The greater the gap between your earning and spending, the faster your wealth increases. But this knowledge isn’t enough to make most people wealthy. We must always be willing to take action on the things we understand intellectually in the areas of finance management and investments. As we know, knowledge without action is essentially meaningless.

Take a pause and Ask yourself these Questions…Where I’m I stuck? What do I know needs to be done but I’ve been putting off due to lack of motivation? What action can I take today to make my life even a little better in growing my finances?

Never confuse Action and Motivation while you wait to feel in the mood to do something. Action guided by the right knowledge must come first, and the motivation comes later.

When you take the small steps toward your financial fitness, the subsequent steps becomes much easier.

Financial Buzz tips for Women 2020 (Post-Pandemic Era)

obbuuz

August 15, 2020

1. Have a monthly budget plan

During this time, identify and set a budget that goes a long way in accumulating money required for your various essential milestones and activities in a month. Set your monthly budget on rent, savings, utilities, groceries and miscellaneous, as it helps to bring a lot of clarity. This period of global unrest is not the period to spend unwisely. You need to set up a monthly budget plan that will aid your spending especially during this period. Reason being that no one knows when the world would fully recover from the pandemic.

More importantly, you also need to have a financial plan for the rest of the year and strictly abide by it by discipline, so you can reach your financial goal(s) for the year and beyond. When setting your budget, make sure it is well defined and prioritized accordingly. It is awesome to have a big, lofty budget, but make sure to break it down into smaller bits. By doing this, you are not overwhelmed trying to accomplish them and also makes it easy keep track on your progress.

2. Reduce Your Expenses

Studies show that women with high financial literacy and money management skills are less likely to engage in irrelevant spending/impulse buying and increases spending behaviour by 8%. While, 60% of a woman’s dream in a corporate organisation is to work hard, get promoted, earn more money, and leave the rest to work itself out.

Money Management has been a major challenge for some women, combined with the society we live in, where most women want to stay relevant by acquiring expensive wears and accessories that most of the time becomes a liability. In as much as looking good and taking care of oneself is very important, it should however, be done wisely. As a woman, develop a specific goal and a financial plan, so you can avert going into debt and spending more than your budget.

3. Develop a Saving Habit

If you are scared of visiting the banking hall during this pandemic, this is the period to get a Piggy/Kolo box (you can get one from mykolo.ng), or engage in some online saving platforms (such as PiggyVest, ALAT and Cowrywise) that enable one to save. These platforms are currently encouraging a strong saving culture in Nigeria with good interest rates.

4. Having multiple streams of income

The main advantage of having multiple streams of income is that you have a diversified revenue source. And therefore, the collapse of one sector will not result in a complete loss of revenue for you.

Adopting the multiple streams of income philosophy is, more or less, like deciding that you will not put all your eggs in one basket. In practice, adopting the multiple income streams way of life means that you will not get stuck on your day job so much so that you don’t give attention to anything else. If you are investing in multiple streams of income while doing your day job is, losing it will not kill you.

5. Plan and Invest wisely

Getting involved in investments is extremely important but should be carried out wisely, especially during this time. Planned and regular investments can create the difference between you fulfilling your goals and you earning returns.

Planned investments entail estimating what the objective of the investment is, the sum of money required for the objective, the investment type that can be made and the time horizon for the investment. In this period of global pandemic, It is very critical to choose the correct investment tool alongside your due diligence.

6. Get Insured

Insurance is essentially your back-up plan that will protect your assets in the event a life circumstance happens that requires a large amount of money to resolve.

Your insurance coverage should include health, auto, life, home, and business. Basically, you want to protect anything of key importance that has a high value to ensure that you (and your loved ones) are protected financially. Having the right insurance can turn what could otherwise be a major disaster into a mere inconvenience.

Knowledge is power.

Check this out!! How You can Set up An Emergency Fund Savings…

obbuuz

August 15, 2020

An Emergency Fund (EF) is a savings account set up to pool and hold a minimum of three months of calculated Non-Discretionary Income (NDI). An EF captures a minimum of three months of Non-Discretionary Income (NDI). What is NDI? These are expenses incurred that must be settled irrespective of income. For instance, rent must be paid, groceries must be paid, we cannot simply stop paying utility bills because we lost our job and thus income.

The first thing to do is to list out all expenses you will incur and attach a cost to them per month or annual basis but corresponding to the period of payment. You do this to identify the necessary expenses which we refer to as the NDE.

Next, decide which of the expenses in your list are Non-Discretionary. In other words, which of these expenses must be settled irrespective of income?

The Emergency Fund is simply a piggy bank. Once it is set up, you can increase the minimum savings as high as you want to go. An EF is not only for downturns, but also good for opportunities.

It is best to keep your Emergency Funds in cash or near cash investments. WHY? Because the Return on investment for the EF is secondary to access to those savings. Also, you want your EF in an investment class with fixed income with no variation in returns. Practically, do not invest your EF portfolio in equities that pay a variable return or even any asset which may need documentation and visits before you can access your funds.

So, if there is income interruption due to job loss or you simply want to take a long holiday and write a book, you can do so and still meet your expenses from these savings.

AUDA-NEPAD and the Ecobank Group launch MSME Academy for African MSMEs in Nigeria

obbuuz

August 14, 2020

A Panafrican MSME Academy spearheaded under the AUDA-NEPAD “100,000 MSMEs by 2021” (100K MSMEs) programme was recently launched by the African Union Development Agency -AUDA-NEPAD and the Ecobank Group. The MSME Academy provides easy access to practical training and resources on financing opportunities in various countries, how to build a digital presence for businesses and how to adapt business operations in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Panafrican MSME Academy offers free access to market intelligence, a host of mentors with a diverse experience while assisting with access to funding opportunities. The MSME Academy will have three components: an informational webinar with invited speakers, a series of virtual instructor-led trainings and mentorship for the MSMEs.

MSMEs are invited to join the first series of informational webinars tailored for MSME operating in Nigeria. The first webinar provides tips on access to finance and building a digital presence.

The programme will provide support to African MSMEs and is structured in three pillars, namely: the MSME Academy, MSME Marketplace, and MSME Financing Support Programme to be delivered through an MSME Digital Platform.

MSME Academy: The MSME Academy aims to build the capacities of MSMEs across Africa through a combination of relevant content library, a network of institutions specialized in MSME support such as incubators and accelerators, and a community of peers, mentors, and advisors.
MSME Marketplace: a consolidated marketplace of marketplaces, enabling MSMEs to access e-commerce, procurement and alternative financing opportunities across the continent
MSME Financing Support Program: a scheme that will bring together financial institutions, guarantee funds, and other institutions to reduce the cost of risk for lenders to deliver capital to MSMEs at scale. The objective is to radically expand access to finance by aggregating smaller financial institutions such as micro-credit institutions and credit unions that have access to micro-enterprises, standardising their processes, and building trust in their capabilities.

The MSME Digital Platform is a one-stop-shop for all MSMEs across Africa to access all these three programmes which jointly address MSMEs’ challenges with access to capacity building, markets, and capital.

When: Thursday, September 03, 2020

Where: Register to the MSME Academy at https://msmeacademy.nepad.org/

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