You can
start a car wash service on a low budget or you can start a standard one at a
good location, the key factors are finding a great location and observing good
customer service. Most car wash businesses in Nigeria are operated by ‘hustlers’
with little or no training in providing the service and are mostly unemployed
youths who see it as something to put body and soul together. The few
professional car services that exist can typically process 3 to 5 cars every 20
minutes which is very difficult to achieve except you operate with a purely
automated service.
Ideal locations
for this type of business are conspicuous spots on busy roads, within busy
fueling stations, at popular market locations, close to high density car parks
etc.
The Opportunities for Car Wash
Services in Nigeria
Nigeria is a
very dusty country in relation to many Sub-Sahara countries and also has many
bad roads which create the ideal environment for frequent car wash needs. The
bad state of roads often means pot holes and potholes mean water puddles during
the rainy season. Also the high presence of untarred roads means plenty of dust
during the dry season which forces many car owners to wash and clean their
vehicles every two or three days. If at least 5% of car owners offer their cars
to car wash services in Nigeria at least twice a week, that means at least
700,000 cars are washed every week in Nigeria. That is not a bad market if each
car wash goes for N500 that means at least 350 million naira weekly sales or at
least 18 billion naira per year market from just 5% of the potential market.
There are
other related opportunities as well. Washing of rugs, fumigation service and
even office cleaning service can be run alongside a professional car wash
service. People who have dirty and old rugs often times approach car wash
operators to help clean their rugs thoroughly because very often they have the
skills and tools to do a thorough job. Add fumigation to it. If there are
parasites bugging your home, chances are that someone who runs a professional
car wash service would also have the tools to come clear your home of it.
Finally many professional office cleaning businesses actually started off as
car wash service.
Challenges facing Car Wash Service in
Nigeria
But this is
rather easier said than done. There are many challenges which could frustrate
anyone going into this business. For instance how do you deal with finding a
suitable location within a commercial and well populated area and that is not
an easy task. Even when you find one you have to contend with task force,
street urchins, high rent costs etc. Another challenge is with fraud. What if
in your absence your employees wash some cars but don’t remit the money to you.
How do you know if you are being defrauded or not? How would you determine how
many cars you actually washed compared to the amount you got?
Startup Summary Cost for Standard Car
Wash Service in Nigeria
- Rent Cost – 180,000
- Car Wash Port – 150,000
- Construction and Renovations – 200,000
- Car Wash Equipment – 150,000
- Borehole – 150,000
- Water Reservoir – 50,000
- Adverts and Printing – 30,000
- Initial 3 months Salaries – 240,000
- Other Operating Costs – 300,000
- Total – N1,450,000
