As a student in Nigeria, making money online is a sustainable way of managing your expenses while still focusing on your studies. When compared to physical jobs, it can be less stressful. There are numerous online opportunities available that can help you achieve that goal. However, it may not come all shiny and rosy.

NB: To make money online in Nigeria as a student (legitimately), you need to acquire these two traits: Patience and hardwork. Patience because your online success won’t come overnight. It may take months. Hardwork because you may have to sacrifice 2 hours of your day to it.

That being said, let’s start without any further ado:

WAYS TO MAKE MONEY ONLINE IN NIGERIA AS A STUDENT.

1. START A BLOG

Starting a blog from Nigeria can be very profitable and if you can write at least good English, you can start one now. You’d need to select a niche (related group of topics) you have a likening for. For example, is a blackgeeks.com.ng focuses mainly on writing about notable Nigerians. Once your blog starts picking up traffic you can milk dollars from it by displaying google Ads, selling advert spaces or embedding affiliate links. You can read this blogging guide by webincomeplus.

2. MANAGE FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM POST.

Some individuals or organisation cannot afford the time or energy it takes to post contents on their social profile. That’s where Social media management comes in. Your duty as a social media manager would involve posting daily/weekly photos and contents on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Getting your first job may require networking or just telling people what you do. You can learn more about social media management in Nigeria from this video by @iamyeychi

3. TRY OUT AMAZON KDP

Amazon KDP is one platform that is fast becoming popular amongst Nigerians. It allows anybody to create books and self publish. To start, you’d need research an “in-demand topic” to write about or hire someone to write about it, publish it with the cover design and Amazon will handle the sales for you. You can also create low content books like journals and even notebooks. I know a friend that makes some buck monthly off KDP.

4. ENTER ESSAY COMPETITIONS.

Essay competitions these days are held over the internet. Once you have a hold of the topic, all you have to do is write, submit your entries and wait for the top 3 announcement or longlisted entries as the case may be. As a budding writer, the opportunities are vast. Cash prizes range from 10k, 100k to as huge as 1 million naira. See ongoing essay competitions here (updated).

5. START A YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

You can typically start a YT channel on a topic you enjoy talking about naturally. There’s a caveat tho: confirm that people are willing to watch your videos as well. Channel Ideas include tutorials, school vlogs, deepdive into Nigeria matters/gists. Youtube allows for monetization when you reach 1,000 subscribers to your channel and 4,000 watch hours over the past 12 months.

OVER TO YOU…

This list is being updated. Check back, please. Do you mind sharing how you have made money online as a student in Nigeria? Share below in the comment section.

Abdulbasit Toriola

Abdulbasit Toriola is an undergrad at the University of Lagos. He still believes Nigeria is the “Giant of Africa”. In his free time, he keenly writes about Nigeria and Nigerians breaking the odds. You can connect with him via any of the links below.