Sample Business Plan: Home and Office Rental Service in Nigeria

Nigerian Online Real Estate Agency. Image Courtesy: fiber.com

The Nigerian Online Rental Business Plan Overview

The online rental business in Nigeria is gradually gaining momentum as a result of rapid changes – both social and economic – and with evolving ICT and lowering marketing costs, a large number of Nigerian urban city residents – moving upwardly due to improving incomes - want to be housed very decently in very cost effective and timely manner. The days when people sought housing opportunities through brick and mortar real estate agencies are fast eroding as more people are now seeking online methods of connecting with real estate agents while seeking rental properties. Details of these facts available on request.

The market is huge as more than 30 million Nigerians are active on social media and use mobile devices to connect with businesses. We are talking of billions of naira in potential revenues to these online office and apartment rental service providers.

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The Business Opportunity (Demand for Nigerian Online Realtor Services)

• 80 million Nigerians have access to mobile devices and many of them are satisfactorily tech savvy
• Nigerians want to bypass unreliable real estate agents as much as possible and one good way to achieve this is with an online service that cuts out the clutter involved in connecting potential tenants with their housing needs
• The population centers of Nigeria – urban towns and cities – suffer from adequate housing and efficient town planning. That makes a house search very difficult without insider knowledge within the industry
• Time and cost savings. This service is very cost effective and convenient to all parties
• There are still 10 more opportunities not outlined in this article (available on request)

The Target Market

The demographics are numerous and can be broken into small and fairly large segments based on the peculiarities and need of each. For instance, young women who are gainfully employed but still single tend to favour small apartments in more pristine neighhourhoods if they can afford it otherwise they would settle for other factors such as proximity to their workplaces, population spread and other key social dynamics (only available in the detailed version of this business plan). The major target market regions vary from: Lagos to Ibadan, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Kano but the demographics include; single women, bachelors, married couples, families, elderly, expatriates, high net worth individuals among others.   

Some Challenges and Threats faced in Online Real Estate

Quacks can also cash-in on the unanimity provided by some online marketing platforms. This could frustrate both potential clients and genuine real estate brokers/agents

Due diligence checks by the client will still boil down to face-to-face consultations and actual property inspection eventually which implies the process is not totally seamless

Security threats exist in all of this if cyber criminals can hack into realtor websites or access client information prior or during consultations

NB: More challenges not outlined because this is a mere sample business plan.

Startup Requirements (in Naira) Direct response mini-Website: Online Marketing Budget: Internet enabled device: Business Cards: 3 months operating costs: Office Space: (optional as office space is required for this business to take off) Total

50,000 150,000 120,000 12,000 60,000 300,000 662,000

Sample Financial Summary (1^st year only)

First year Profit and Loss Summary (in Naira)
Gross Income: Operating Costs: Profit before tax: Taxation: Profit after tax:	3,600,000 690,000 2,910,000 970,000 1,940,000

Conclusion

From the startup costs and above financial summary statement, it is clear that this business is highly profitable. The entry requirement is minimal both from the cost and technical angles but the payoff is huge with an effective marketing strategy and management process in place.

Want to start a new business, expand or approach a bank for a loan and need a bankable business plan? Send me an email to: paulonwueme@gmail.com or call: 0803 206 4106 to get started.