The belief that there’s “no money to be made from history” is so widespread that it’s become a default position for the vast majority of people. Enthusiasts of the subject often lament that it’s not going to fetch them their daily bread. But what if I told you that there are many business ideas for history lovers to pursue, even in Nigeria?
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All over the world, we’ve seen history-inspired startups emerge. Thanks to technologies of various kinds, history buffs with an entrepreneurial bent are now devising fresh ways to spread the joys of learning about the past to new audiences. And they’re making a lot of money from it.
If you’re drawn to history or subject matters closely related to it, you’ll find the following business ideas interesting and maybe worth bringing to life.
History Content Creator
The online world is a goldmine for lay and academic historians alike. If you’re a great communicator and understand the unique characteristics of the major social networks, you could build a thriving digital content creation business around your passion.
Start by setting up pages on key social media platforms. Present your content in ways that are interesting, relevant to current realities, and appeal to the emotions and cultural sensitivities of your audience. Your approach to this on TikTok will differ from your style on X (Twitter). Stay consistent, monitor engagement metrics, adjust your media and messaging accordingly, and keep pushing.
Over time, you’ll build a large audience, and that’ll give you numerous opportunities to monetise your knowledge: platform payouts, sponsored posts, ebooks, courses, affiliate commissions, media consultations, and more.
Other routes you can take to a similar destination are newsletters targeted at a global audience that’s curious about African history, and a niche blog that covers ancient and prehistoric Africa (also optimised for a global audience).
Virtual Tourism
What if schools could give their students a tour of historical and archaeological sites in Nigeria without physically visiting those places? It’s certainly possible, thanks to Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies.
In Tunisia, a startup called Historiar is making history fun with this idea. It sells immersive experiences of VR, reconstructed ancient cities like Carthage and Dougga. But Historiar doesn’t serve schools alone. It’s getting patronage from individuals, tour operators, and entertainment events.
The hard work of creating a Nigerian version of this startup will begin with capturing panoramic views of various sites in Nigeria. There’s also collaboration with historians and archaeologists at local universities, marketing, and developing a sustainable business model. But these can be done.
You could sell VR experiences of Birnin Kudu’s Neolithic rock art, sections of Sungbo’s Eredo, reconstructions of the old Kano walls or Benin moat, the Arochukwu cave temple complex, and many others.
Digital Archiving Startup
Nigeria struggles to preserve its history. Many historical figures and events have been erased from the public’s consciousness as older generations fade and newer ones take their place. But if you could save what’s left, you could turn the resulting archive into a proper business.
There’s a large volume of photos, videos, newspapers, books, official documents, private letters, music recordings, and personal diaries of historical consequence that are out there, waiting to be collected. Some of these items date back to the 1800s.
Let’s say you do succeed at assembling a fraction of these resources. You could digitise them and then devise monetisation strategies. Ideas for this include subscriptions, one-time payments for single uses, and services rendered to history departments at universities and research institutes across the world.
In addition, you may also offer digital archiving services to other organisations, train their staff on archiving best practices, and generate revenue from social media content that’s based on your archived material.
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Research Grant Consultancy
This is an academia-facing business idea. It’s modelled after typical grant consultancy agencies, which assist academic researchers with finding and securing funding for their research projects.
If you closely follow the work of academics in the fields of history, archaeology, and anthropology, you may be eager for progress in those domains. Unfortunately, Nigerian locals who are active within them are typically underfunded.
Why not solve this problem and build a business around the solution? You could do this by learning the art and mechanics of grant proposal writing, funding, and project cycle management. Then you may establish relationships with academics in Nigeria and across Africa to learn firsthand what their challenges are. Finally, study, connect with, and engage grant makers in these fields from all over the world.
Building a base for your grant consultancy will take time and a lot of effort. But your knowledge of the disciplines and strong networking skills can make this business idea a reality. When it does come alive, consider serving a pan-African clientele and connecting them to global funding opportunities.
Corporate History and Communications
Yes, big businesses also need help from historians.
Your history-inspired agency can help them preserve data and records about their past. There are many ways that these things could matter for them, from brand storytelling to legal disputes, host community engagement and historical data for market research.
Of course, you’ll need to ascertain the demand for this service where you’re at. But you can nudge potential customers, too. If you determine that there’s a large market for a corporate history and communications business, you might pitch the solution to them.
To increase your chances of succeeding, you will probably have to begin with a transnational outlook, e.g. catering to West African organisations. But this may not be necessary. Preliminary market research should help you decide.
History-Themed Board Games
History-based games are not a new idea. Call of Duty: Black Ops, Age of Empires, and Crusader Kings are all popular video games of this genre. You can repurpose this idea for board games, which are usually more affordable.
Nigeria has a few board game producers. Here’s an idea: add to their number, but stand out as the history-based one.
Parents, especially those keen on giving their children a well-rounded education, would love to get their children interested in history. A board game featuring famous figures from Nigeria’s history is a great way to do that.
You could sell these games to Nigerians living in the country and people in the Diaspora who want to keep the memory of their origins alive in their children or younger siblings.
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Final Words
Regardless of what you’ve heard, you can make money from your interest in history. The business ideas for history lovers that we have surveyed here are proof of this fact. At the very least, they should open your eyes to the possibility of monetising knowledge in Nigeria.
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