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  Ibadan is one of Nigeria’s largest and most populated cities. It’s also a leading commercial centre, especially for the country’s South Western region. Given these facts, you would think that coming up with an idea for a viable venture located within it would be easy. But in reality, identifying the best businesses to start in Ibadan can be quite a challenge.
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Things You Should Look Out for

Ideally, you will want to provide goods and services that meet these conditions:
  • In high demand, rather than oversupplied
  • Within a market that isn’t saturated
  • Clear prospect for growth into the foreseeable future
  • Starting and early running costs are within the range you can feasibly cover
  • Margins are fair enough to make pursuit worthwhile

Best Business Ideas for Ibadan

If you’d like to start a business in Ibadan that meets these conditions, you may consider any of the following ideas:

LPG Fill Point

Within a decade, urban households in Nigeria have largely switched from fueling their cooking with kerosene to utilising LPG (cooking gas) for that purpose. As a result, thousands of LPG dealers have sprung up across the country. And as demand for this product continues to grow, more of these points will be needed to boost supply. You could serve localities within Ibadan with a small LPG sales point. Or, if you have the funds for it, you may establish a larger depot, one for an entire district.

Food Crop Farming

The more populated a city is, the greater its demand for food will be. And despite the large number of neighbourhood stores and market stalls that exist in Ibadan, there’s still an undersupply of food produce. Growing the food that the city needs is almost always a good business idea, particularly if it’s a staple or a widely loved but infrequently available item. You can start your farm on the outskirts of the city and have merchants purchase produce from it for resale.
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Real Estate

Ibadan’s population continues to grow. As this is happening, the number of houses and commercial buildings required is also increasing. Some of the upward pressure on housing, office, and store prices exists because of the gap that has opened up between what’s on the market and the population of potential property occupants. You can help to plug this gap by building and renting out residential or commercial property. Alternatively, you may purchase land in a decent location, watch demand for land in that area rise, and sell it for a sizable profit within a year or two.

VoIP Products Sub-Dealer

We are witnessing an increase in the use of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services in Nigeria. VoIP allows users to make and receive voice calls for a fraction of the tariff that telecoms companies charge for regular voice calls. People who know this are more likely to switch over to a VoIP provider or adopt them as a cost-effective failsafe to a primary line. Reselling SIMS, airtime and data to the ever-expanding segment of Ibadan people who want to use VoIP services is therefore an idea worth exploring.

Digital Marketing

Nigeria’s web space is heavily dominated by businesses located in Lagos and Abuja. Ibadan, despite its large population, isn’t nearly as represented. A business that sets out to solve this problem could generate impressive revenue and profit within a relatively short time, due to the enormity of the implicit demand for the service. Note that you may have to sell the utility of greater exposure via the web and social media to businesses. But when they understand the benefits, they will be more eager to pay you to set up and manage their online presence.
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Final Words

Our list of the best businesses to start in Ibadan isn’t exhaustive. But it features some of the most lucrative options for today’s economic reality. If you’re interested in building a venture in Ibadan that has a good chance of succeeding, you can explore the ones we’ve discussed here.
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This article was first published on 11th June 2025
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ikenna-nwachukwu

Ikenna Nwachukwu holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He loves to look at the world through multiple lenses- economic, political, religious and philosophical- and to write about what he observes in a witty, yet reflective style.

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