There is a
growing demand for car hire service whether for airport shuttle (pick up and
drop off) or intra city car hire by visiting businessmen, executives or tourists
within a city such as say Abuja or Lagos which are key destinations for business travelers to Nigeria. The Car hire service can be classified both
under transport and tourism sectors of the Nigerian economy because of the very
nature the services are delivered and to the target market which are mostly
foreigners on visits to Nigeria.
The Market and Opportunity
The market
for car hire service is quite huge worth over N10 billion in sales (based on present and continuous basic research in Nigeria) and it is very flexible as you can combine several related ventures
with your business enabling you to have more than one source of income. It is a little difficult to compute the exact figures for this market,
but according to a report monitored on a Nigerian Newspaper about 10% to 15% of
Nigerian business travelers now use car hire services whereas not less than 400,000 people visit Nigeria annually for business and most of them have a
budget to cover their stay while here in Nigeria. Part of that budget would go
into airport shuttle service and car hire service which many hotels have taken
advantage of. Once you arrive in Nigeria as a visitor and have booked a hotel
to stay in, naturally you’d inquire about cab services within the city you’re
visiting but not all hotels can provide this service and even those who can, may
charge much or may want to focus on providing core hotel services that they’ll
rather outsource the service to more competent companies, Some companies already having this advantage include the popular Uber, Bolt and others, while in the motorcycle business is Gokada, Opay and others. That is where you
come in as a savvy business person of which there is enough profit to go round.
The Car Hire Industry in Nigeria –
Regulators, Operators and Associations
The main
operators in this business airport shuttle service, car hire and cab
services
who on behalf of clients provide mobility and convenience to tourists
and
business travelers within key cities in Nigeria. One of the
requirements for
anyone intending on doing this business is registration with relevant
government regulatory agencies such as Federal Airport Authority of
Nigeria
(FAAN) for airport shuttle. If you want to operate a cab service you
need to be registered with the regulatory state government agency for
intra city transport and that varies from state to state within Nigeria.
It is also advisable to join the Taxi Drivers and Cab Operators
Association within your resident state. Alternatively you may want to
instead partner with reliable taxi drivers to provide this service
instead of operating a taxi yourself.
Some Challenges in Car Hire Business
- Armed Robberies and Car theft – there have been reported cases of armed robbers holding car hire and cab operators hostage while they perpetrate their crimes within the federal capital territory for instance. Although these are isolated cases they have a way of preventing the business from running smoothly whenever they occur plus your company's reputation may take a hit if your clients are unlucky to be robbed while using your service.
- Bad Roads - this can affect efficiency and cause some inconveniences for your clients, Know your way around it.
- Uncooperative customers - Some customers are very difficult to work with. They might make unrealistic demands or set unreasonable targets for you to meet.
- Dishonest employees - some may go behind your back by giving out their own numbers instead of the company's number to potential clients and pocket the money they receive from such clients without informing the company.
- Fairly Used Salon Car (preferably Toyota, Nissan or Peugeout 2008 model or later) – N1,300,000
- Office Space – N150,000
- Furniture – N50,000
- Marketing – N30,000
- Other expenses (including car tracking, insurance, operational costs etc) - N200,000
- Total – N1,720,000
The profit payback period is about 8 to 9 months depending on how well you manage your sales efforts.