How To Start An Import/Export Business In Nigeria

The import/export business is the key driver of growth or recession in any country. Depending on if there are

more imports or exports than the other, the effects it has on every economy, including Nigeria’s, is always profound.

While this industry is largely run by the private sector, the government regulates all of the industries and still maintains some state-owned products like crude oil to be exported only by the country, with the help of brokers to facilitate a lot of the transactions.

The possibilities for exportation is vast, and in a country like Nigeria that’s rich in mineral resources and agricultural products venturing into the import/export business is a great bet for any entrepreneur in any country around the world to take up.

What Is The Import/Export Business About?

The import/export business is about the importation and exportation of goods and services from the shores of every country around the world.

An exporter usually gets a purchase order from an importer. And after all the co-requirements are met by both parties, a deal is signed—where the importer would usually sign a year-long contract with the exporter, which is then adjusted to 5 years after a first successful one-year delivery.

Facts And Benefits Of The Import/Export Business

• It can build a country’s economy
• It can be capital intensive
• It can also be started with $0

Business Opportunities In The Import/Export Business

1). Direct Goods Export:

Here a company who manufactures locally could source international clients for their business and export their products to them. This is usually capital intensive, as you have to either be producing the products yourself, which will cost money, or you may have to outrightly buy out from the producers to export with your own margins.

2). Export Management:

Export management companies help organizations who have products for exports but don’t know how to go about it or don’t want to know at all. What the export management company does is to act as a consultant for the direct supplier, communicate with the buyers using the supplier’s company name, and close deals on behalf of the supplier.

The supplier would usually have a fixed amount they pay the Export Management Company monthly, and also a commission they’d earn on every successful sale.

3). Export Brokers:

This is the most popular, safest, and effective exportation angle to come in from. Here you act as a broker for either the importer or the exporter or both.

If for instance, the cost of white Sesame seeds from Nigeria $1,500 per ton, you could strike up a deal with a supplier to accept $1450 per ton or better still, you could source a buyer that would purchase from you for about $1,550 per ton.

Brokering any export transaction is the best way to approach the industry because, you can be exporting different products across various industries, and still generate far more profit margins than the people you’re brokering on their behalf.