I was wondering if there are any good investments i can invest in without any fear of 419. i know there must be a few but with all these rotten scammers, people outside Nigeria don't want to invest a penny in up and coming companies. Any input would be much appreciated.

There are a thousand and one good and legitimate investment opportunities in Nigeria. It depends on your area on interest; whatever be the case my usual advice is to use professionals only. I have observed that most people abroad do not what to pay professional fees for services because a relation told them it could be done for cheaper and usually by a quack or impostor.

If you want to invest in Nigeria do it the same way you will do it where you are now. . . by using the appropriate consultants. That way you can save yourself regrets.

@ Kajad.

Thanks for responding. Out of that thousand and one can you name a few? Could you recommend any consultants that charge a reasonable percentage? is it better i come to Nigeria or can i arrange it from over here? have you invested in any of the companies?

Invest in electricity generation. There is an acute demand for reliable, affordable, noiseless, and environmentally safe electric power supply for homes and businesses in Nigeria.

_{this dude is obsessed with nepa n phcn ,}

Electricity is not for everyone, esp with the whole thing in government control , so fix up!

Hot CoCo just buy shares if u can trust me you will get hypertension if u do anything in nigeria especially while your based in london

Haba seun! Electricity Generation?  That will be something! Electricity Generation will be a worthwhile investment but, non you can buy into for now. _{Unless you know better Seun.}
You may wish to specify areas that interest you. Coming home to see will give you better opportunity of making informed decision. Yes I have invested in some companies and also in banking sector during there recent recapitalization exercise. My interest now is on Housing and I want to be a player not just an investor. I will be willing to look up some reputable investment consultants for you if it will be of help.

@Seun

Have you invested in Electricity Generation?

@ Kajad

When you say housing, do you mean the property market buy to let etc or build to sell? or affordable housing.

I am interested in the digital age but i dont know if that is an area Nigeria is venturing into. Shall i just list the areas im interested in even though i don't know what Nigeria has to offer?


if i am to buy shares i don't know where to start. Over here the bank helps you invest in shares by setting up ISAS and TESSAS and other investments.

i will be glad of any help.

Hot_Coco: I would invest in electricity generation if I had the money, because it's a very obvious need that surpasses the need for telecoms that led to the GSM revolution. So far the only power investment I have been able to make is in 2 100AH batteries and an inverter that powers my PC every day when NEPA/PHCN strikes!

Later I will invest in a personal generator, followed by a community generator for my street, and finally a full-scale power plant for the town I live in. If you have the capital, please rush into it today. We need you.

Seun,

If you built a community generator, how would you handle the issue of pricing and power theft?

I do agree with you generally about the need for private investment in power generation and distribution. I'm just hoping that there's a scientific breakthrough on the battery energy density front so that a battery the size and weight of a computer keyboard will store enough electricity to supply a room inhabited by a single power power for a month. Then you'll have all manner of enterprises springing up purely to enable you to recharge your batteries and PHCN will be consigned to the land of irrelevancy.

For the community generator, I'll use electricity meters to measure usage and employ a strict computerized prepaid electricity vending system.

One possible improvement on this idea, informed by your idea above, is to install a monstrously large battery bank, which would be charged either by NEPA (when available) or by a generator. I would bill at a rate higher than that of NEPA. A battery bank would be better than a generator at adjusting to wide fluctuations in the demand for power. The higher price will motivate people to save power to lower their bills, but power will be available whenever they need it.

i read a news report recently in which the Lagos state government was calling for power investors.

seun you are talking about helping the community, and on the other hand you are going to "bill higher than NEPA" seems like money hungry

capitalism to me. getting rich by exploiting your fellow man, no way to go.

I don't think a higer rate would make people save power, they would figure it out themselves especially if they are using pre-paid cards.

@zebudaya
Did I hear u say "money hungry capitalism", well it is the same system here in the U.S that causes the traffic jam at the embassy with people, waiting to come and grab a piece of the pie. The beauty of capitalism is that just like in Seun's case, if he open starts the generating business and start making money,, sooner or later other people will jump into the band wagon, causing fierce competiton that will eventually force him to lower the price inorder to stay in business. See "capitalism" is not the enemy here, because it synonmous with free-market, which encourages competition, which in turn lowers the price for the average consumer while giving them lots of options, much like if Sprint PCS is too expensive,, I can always switch to verizon,, or AT&T or cingular wireless,, well u get the point. Yeah capitalism can be a little explotative at first,, but in the long run, the average consumer gets the last laugh, infact we need more of capitalism to improve NIgerian economy, not the other way round, get it?, cheers

,

I must say I love Seun's idea of investing in power if the money is there. I have a six 200Ah battery bank and inverter in my office that can power the company's equipment room for 72 hours at a stretch without Nepa. People will be happy to pay more for regular and efficient power supply after all many of us spend more money paying Nepa and buying fuel/diesel for our gen sets. Check out if two or more pple can pull resources and get up to 10 million and supply power to their community. They will serve the community with power, make money and provide jobs. You can even get solar panels to charge the battery banks. I think its a brilliant idea.

@gbengaijot
I suggest you go thru brokers when buying shares especially if you really want to be a player in the market and not just buying shares for future. The brokers help you manage your shares and tell you when the prices to up or down so you can make some business decisions either to sell off or not. for example, the brokers monitors the performance of the companies and tell you if the company id doing well or not. If they are not doing well, you can decide to sell your shares b4 the company finally goes under. They can also inform you of other opportunities and other companies that are doing well so you can invest. And when the share price of these companies go up, you can decide to sell off your shares and make some cool cash. The percentage you pay to a broker is well worth the services. Always use professionals in your business dealings.

Hey Wiseguy,

Do you have any idea who sells solar panels and batteries in Lagos?

This Electricity thing is a very good business but very capital intensive. People opt for PHCN (NEPA) and not battery pack or solar panel because of the initial connection cost. Although poorly managed’ most street light in Port Harcourt are solar. So anyone thinking of investing in Electricity 4 now should concentrate on Power Generation; and think in terms of millions of dollars; Power distribution and retail are another game which is not feasible now.


@ Hot CoCo
Yes when I said housing I meant property market, an international organization is interested in providing facility for massive building construction to be sold to the members of the public in Abuja. I intend to pursue it and take advantage of the mortgage finance scheme.

I see great future in Digital age. Though at its infancy it is growing very fast.

If you want to buy shares here you can do it exactly they way you do there. Some Nigerian banks have branches in London. You can put a call to them and make further enquiries.
This is a public forum so I can only be as explicit.

I think renewable and environmentally freindly power generation is the way to go. I know someone involved in solar energy in Naija

@Mongue
No. I'm actually in PH. And I only know of some of the guys in PH but I believe if you ask around, you'll get a lot of them in Lagos as well. Don't be surprised your neighbour across the street might be into the business.

Stocks are a reasonably good form of investment, if you can stomach the risk. The Nigerian stock market has outperformed most stock markets in Europe/America for a few years now. Thats in addition to the fact that there's no capital gains tax to pay. When you sell, you pocket all your money (aside from brokers fees, etc).

Property is also good, but you've still not said what kind of investment your thinking about. If you're undecided, please take your time and do your research properly. As someone already mentioned, consult professionals.

@seun

You'll have to think of a way of getting the power to pple's doorsteps. As long as PHCN has the monopoly of the distribution infrastructure, well, An alternative approach could be to either make or sell things that'll enable other pple generate their own power; more efficient batteries, smaller and better solar panels, or even juju, whatever.

hey Hot_CoCo, drop me a msg on my yahoo, i might have something that might be of interest to u.

you guys have just taken over and personalised this Topic, u might as well change the topic 

i know seun is obsessed with electricity generation no worry e go better _{(hmm i wonder why all these foreign investors are shying away from it)}
Hot_CoCo i don't think u really want to go to nigeria to deal with all these hassle , plus loads of blood red tapes n ghana must go brown envelopes

There are alot of stock brokers in nigeria now so they have very competeive charges best sector to invest is Banking and Oil

As for property market, build to let is a good way to go 

You will only invest in Power Generating System only if you know someone in position otherwise, you will only give another rich politician a glimpse on where he/she can invest. You will blaze the trail for a while after they will get your ass locked with License Fees you will never be able to afford .

Stock? Well, is not a bad idea for people who got their bottom jaw almost dropped off just because they are scared to invest. Though your money is safe but you will only earn passive income. why putting letting another person invest with you money, at the end of the year you get about 8% of the whole thing .

The Questions are: Are you thinking of making money or You will like to make money while others parttake from it?

Of course you can invest and make Good money.

@K9

Give me your yahoo id


@seeker

I really like the idea of the Power Generating System not only to invest in but also to go into distribution. When you say monopoly you mean main distributor right as there must be other distributors in Nigeria.


@ Afrobeat
Solar power will be something worth looking into. What company is involved in solar energy in Nigeria?
what are the costs involved?

@ Abeys1
I am looking at ways to increase my financial status to feed my people back home. I thought shares will be a good starting point until i generate enough income to start gambling. You seem confident that i can invest and make good money, got any ideas to share?


@seeker

If there are any property investments hook me up. I am generally interested in whatever generates money. Then i can hook up with the likes of Seun and Wiseguy to create a company that can rival the likes of NEPA.

@Seun: Did you build the batteries and inverter yourself or bought them already assembled?

Hot_CoCo check my profile for my id

@Hot coco, i guess i have an idea that u might like about digital stuff as its gaining ground here in niga gradually.contact me thru email for details@
toni4moore@yahoo.com

My ideas cann't be Posted for everyone to see, I will prefer to share it in private if you wouldn't mind.

Seun, where did yoiu buy your solar panel and other stuffs like the inverter. did u buy it in lagos?, did u assemble it urself?

@k9

Your yahoo id is not on display or do you use K9 ?

As crazy as it sounds (pple always tell me I am crazy, considering my field), I think one big time area of investment, that gets little or no attention, in Nigeria is in Agriculture. If you think about it, how much is a cup of garri now? How much is hen or cow? Think about it folks - pple have to eat.

So while trying to get into other areas is no doubt good, at the end of the day, as humans we have to eat and as Nigerians, we have to eat eba. Even if you don't produce for the local market, you can produce for the global market. We live in the global economy era. If Agriculture weren't good in that respect, I don't think obj would have gone to the extent of bringing in oyibo from zimbabwe.

that's my 2 cents

is it better i come to Nigeria or can i arrange it from over here? have you

someone please answer this part of her question, cheers

loverBwoy,

dat one is a correct question with no answer o! Y do i say so? If she operates from wherever she is, chances are that she will be duped. If she operates from Nigeria, even before her koro koro eyes, chances are she will be duped. In other words, she is caught in between the proverbial rock and a hard place.

After much thought on the topic, in order to have any kind of success in Naija biz, one has to be the judge, jury and executioner - u r customer service, cashier, accountant, manager all in one. Sure, pple will laugh at you and blame you for being stingy for trying to run the show yourself, but hey, are you in biz for themselves or for yourself?

that's my 2 cents