₦airaland Forum

A lot of us who run small businesses in Nigeria use one account for everything. Customers send money into the same account we use to pay school fees, buy fuel, do POS withdrawals and help family members, and it works fine in the beginning because the sales are small and we can still remember where each kobo went. After some months, though, you will find that the shop is busy and money is coming in every day, but you cannot say how much the business really made, how much it spent, or how much you personally took out.

A typical real-life example looks like this:

Imagine a clothes seller in Port Harcourt who made ₦3,000,000 in sales in a month. She spent ₦2,030,000 on the business itself (fabric and stock, packaging and dispatch, her shop assistant’s salary and shop rent), then paid ₦650,000 for house groceries and school fees from the same account, and also transferred ₦300,000 from her personal account to help with stock. If she records everything together, her sales will show as ₦3,300,000 and her expenses will look too high. When it is done properly, the business actually made ₦970,000, she took out ₦650,000 for personal use, and she put in ₦300,000 of her own money, which is capital and not sales.

If you can relate with the above, we highlight 7 steps you can take to fix this:

1. Open one account that is only for the business. Customers should pay into it and business costs should leave from it, and this is still advisable even if you have not registered with CAC.

2. Decide how and when you will pay yourself. Instead of taking money from the business account every time you have a need, set a fixed amount to transfer to your personal account at the end of each month, after you have checked what the business can really afford.

3. Do not record your own money as sales. When you put ₦500,000 of your personal money into the business to buy stock, that is owner capital or a loan from you to the business, and customers did not pay it.

4. If you mix things up, write it down properly. A business expense you paid with your personal money should be recorded as an expense paid by you, and if the business refunds you later, that is a reimbursement. A personal expense you paid from the business account should be recorded as owner withdrawal and not as a business cost.

5. Keep your receipts and add a clear note. “₦240,000 transfer to Musa” will mean nothing to you after three months, but “₦240,000 to Musa Cold Room Services for freezer repair on 9 July” will explain itself, and a picture of the receipt on your phone is enough.

6. Sort your transactions every week. Spending 20 to 40 minutes weekly to tag what is business, what is personal and what is a transfer is much easier than spending days at the end of the year trying to remember what each payment was for.

7. Set simple rules if staff or partners also spend business money. Everybody should know who can approve spending, what needs a receipt and which account or card to use, because small leakages look like normal spending when there are no rules.

If you have any other tips for managing your own business and personal money, please share your experience so others can learn from it. Thanks!

Running a business in Nigeria is hard, and getting capital is usually the hardest part. But you don’t always need a loan or an investor who wants a share of your company. These 11 programmes offer grants, equity-free funding, or support that leads to funding.

1. Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF): US$5,000 non-refundable seed capital, plus training and mentorship. Open to early-stage African entrepreneurs. tonyelumelufoundation.org

2. iDICE: A federal programme for tech and creative businesses. The Startup Bridge Founders Lab offers training and a chance at non-equity grants. Note that iDICE also has debt and equity options, so read the terms. idice.ng/opportunities

3. SMEDAN: Offers a ₦50,000 conditional grant for micro-enterprises (you must hire at least one extra person), plus skills training, women’s programmes, and starter packs. smedan.gov.ng/our-programs

4. Young Africa Innovates (YAI): Grants, incubation, and mentorship for innovators aged 18 to 35, backed by UNDP and the Mastercard Foundation. The 2026 Cohort 2 call was limited to certain states and ran August to September, so watch for the next cohort. youngafricainnovates.ng

5. NITDA Tech Revolution Africa: Connects tech startups with funding and pilot contracts from government agencies and corporates. It is not a guaranteed cash grant. nitda.techrevolutionafrica.org

6. NiYA (Nigeria Youth Investment Agency): Youth entrepreneurship funding and training. Some initiatives are grants, others are loans, so check each one. fmyd.gov.ng/niya

7. Orange Corners Nigeria: Incubation, mentorship, and links to funding for young entrepreneurs. Funding terms vary by track. orangecorners.com

8. BOI Intervention Funds: Mostly loans, not grants, for MSMEs, women-led and rural businesses. Understand the repayment terms before applying. iprogrammes.boi.ng

9. Student Venture Capital Program (S-VCG): Equity-free seed funding of up to ₦50M for student-led ventures in tertiary institutions, mainly in STEMM fields. svcg.education.gov.ng

10. Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH): Backed by the Jack Ma Foundation. The top 10 finalists share a US$1.5M grant pool in 2026. You need at least 3 years of operation. africabusinessheroes.org

11. Grooming Endowment Trust (GET): GET Compass gives up to ₦2M in equity-free capital to businesses under 3 years old. GETaccelerated is for tech startups. Applicants should be CAC-registered. groomingtrust.org

How to improve your chances:

- Keep your CAC documents and business bank details ready before a call opens.
- Keep clean financial records, so you can show how the business actually performs.
- Say exactly what the money will pay for (equipment, stock, hiring, marketing).
- Have a pitch deck ready, and make it specific to your business, not generic.
- Apply only through official channels. Legitimate programmes don’t charge processing fees, so beware of anyone promising guaranteed grants.

And if you've applied to these programmes before, please share your experience. Thanks!

Somatohadidas:
The chances are as compared to other applicants if you have all the required documents, skills, and experience. Once you fulfill the requirements, you have no problems.

Yes, that's very possible. I have seen people do that several times. Let me give you an example. During my masters in Europe, I saw people with Animal science backgrounds going into Animal Breeding and Genetics for Master’s, then, Plant Genetics for PhD and now a head of the Human Genetics Department at a well established hospital. Another is ABG->Animal Reproduction -> Human Reproduction (BSc->MSc->PhD). Animal sciences-> ABG-> Genetics and Bioinformatics


In fact, I have more and more closer examples.

Therefore, don't limit yourself. Go ahead and give it your best shot.

I wish you the best.

SIMPLIFIED:
calm down, first PhD Admission is competitive and PhD Admission in Biomedical sciences is among the most competitive. As a Nigerian that studied the life sciences you are already at a Lower scale because most of us don't have that hands on lab research exposure, you see those in US doing summer research, PREP and other lab research to be qualified for Biomedical PhD programs. You need to do something outside the basic to gain PhD Admission in Biomed field from a third world country and even graduating with a high CGPA alone won't cut it in this field.
Apply for volunteer research assistant position in a university that has good research lab, places like NIMR, acquire hands on Molecular Biology /bioinformatics skills, you have Inqaba Biotech, Helix Biogene Institute among others. Find postgraduate student in any university in your research area and collaborate in getting publications. Take online courses on Coursera, udemy on Genomics, cancer Biology. Molecular Biology, genetics etc and list on your CV with certificates verified and link attached. This requires adequate planning and dedication, time and money. You are competing against the best from students that are running PCR and Gel Electrophoresis already in their undergrad and many depts take like 5-15 students out of 500+ applicants.

Somatohadidas:
This assertion is wrong. I have seen folks with Master´s and Bachelor's Degrees from Nigeria getting into Biological Sciences and Biomedical PhD programs in the US.

I agree that the competition for places in these programs is becoming very fierce year after year. However, saying that folks "should leave the programs for Americans" is not right—it might even sound demoralising to some people.

Subsequently, I´d like to reiterate that having a first-class is not enough for this. It is important to have rudimentary (even intermediate) knowledge of the current software and tools used in the field. Particularly, for folks looking at the aforementioned programs, it is essential to have a working knowledge of R, Python, Basic Linux and related programs. Furthermore, basic knowledge of bioinformatics and wet lab experience (through internships). Trying your hands (analysis) on various biological data (related to your research area) in various public repositories to test your knowledge would be very beneficial too. It could even help you buttress your points about your passion and zeal for the field in your letter of motivation, statement of purpose or personal statement.

Also, improving knowledge by enrolling in several Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and attending related (in-person/virtual) conferences and workshops (there are many available now—thanks to COVID-19). Having membership in National and International Professional Associations in your field should also be considered.

The bitter truth is those you are competing with from the global north have robust opportunities to gain many experiences (wet and dry lab/conferences/posters presentations) before they finish their undergraduate studies. Therefore, you cannot come and tell them (the admission committee) to pick you ahead of them by having a first-class. So, it is not really about luck; check the profiles of those that got into these programs from Nigeria—you will understand what I am trying to say.

I hope this helps someone.

Deicide:
Ok call the bank or send them an email, they'll send it for you.

N2B2:
Call GTB customer care and ask them to generate and send to your e-mail an account statement with your residential address on it (Tell them it's for verification purposes and MUST have your address). I'm not sure if they do this often (as they've done it for me before), but it's worth a try. Good luck.

Deicide:
He doesn't even have to do thst, he log online to gtonline and get it.

Florasilver:
That's an easy problem to solve.

N2B2:
Call GTB customer care and ask them to generate and send to your e-mail an account statement with your residential address on it (Tell them it's for verification purposes and MUST have your address). I'm not sure if they do this often (as they've done it for me before), but it's worth a try. Good luck.

pocohantas:
It has been linked is that it has been linked na. It would automatically enter the USD. When the funds are available, you click “Get Paid” - “Get Paid Now” and it would ask which account you want it to go to. Select Payoneer. That is all. You don’t need to add anything else.

Your money cannot enter bush. If the receiving account doesn’t match, it won’t go through. Relasss and congrats on your first pay.

TheManOfTheYear:
Hey all.
I finally got my first offer

My base salary is 400k and I'd be resuming as a Frontend Developer for a new startup.

Don't give up.

qtguru:
Amazing I'm glad and success to you bro

ahmedsaniadamu:
ok let me change it

IceColdVeins:
Ooops sorry about that.
Always run your git status, before you use any reset command.