By Femi Akinola
Transportation businesses are a type of business that transport goods or passengers from one location to another. It provides services to individual passengers, corporate organisations or global trade partners.
Modern transport businesses run the gamut from the personal dispatch and moving and storage services, to a large scale freight operations. Depending on one’s level of interest in the business, an investor in transportation sector in Nigeria will experience exponential growth in the investment, if well managed.
For instance, trucking company is the most lucrative aspect of transportation business in the country. Thousands of heavy duty trucks, tankers and trailers are being used on daily basis to transport various commodities including petroleum products, gas and mixed cement, food stocks, from one part of the country.
A visit to the Apapa and Roro ports in Lagos will testify to the fact that investment in transportation yields a high turnover.
For the purposes of foreign investors, Nigerians in diaspora and local based Nigerians who are interested in investing in a business with less risk and high dividend, transport business is one of the best sectors one can invest.
It is divided into three categories:
Personal transport: This is about one-on-one services to individuals or small groups of people, like taxi services, Uba, intra and inter-state bus services. In addition is the tricycle and motorcycle popularly referred to as “Okada”. In some states, “Okada” has been banned as a mode of transportation due to misuse of motorcycles in criminal activities.
Local transport: This category of transport business serves regional markets by transporting livestock, consumer goods, building materials and other varieties of goods. Opportunities abound in this section of transport business in Nigeria because of the high demand for these items.
Globa transport: Global transport companies encompass international scale. In global transport business, international providers may offer shipping or air-based delivery of cargo services.
Findings into the sector have revealed that each category is unique and will give maximum profits if handled well. But, operations require a unique knowledge on state, federal and international law guiding their operations. Based on the investor’s interest, target, financial capability and expertise, the investor can plan over the next step.
As one begins to plan to start a transport business, even if at the level of running a taxi service or commercial transportation in a densely populated cities like Lagos, the investor need to pay attention to the things he or she would need to learn, study, and acquire before the lunch.
Answers must also have been provided for the following:
-What niche will I choose. If you’re not sure of what to choose, go and conduct research about the demand and supply in the area the service would be rendered to the people.
– Establish your preferred business model. This is about setting up your business structure.
– Apply for licences and permits. Before you start transport business in Nigeria, the investor need to have the right licensure. Note that transport business requires more permits in the country than any other types of companies.
– When you own a transportation business in Nigeria, ensure you always prepare for routine maintenance to ensure that your customers don’t experience any gap in the services you are providing.
Neglect of any of these and other essential issues relating to the business in the country could lead to stress and challenges later on. Many people have invested in this business in the past and run into challenges that run down their investments because they failed to prioritised setting a strong foundation.
It is easy for an investor in transport business to get lost in the everyday operations because there is high demand for more investment in transport business in Nigeria. In the country, there is high population and people are moving while goods are being transported from one side of the country to another every twenty-four hours on daily basis.
