BUSINESSES TO START WITH 50,000 NAIRA

BUSINESSES YOU CAN START WITH JUST N50,000

1. CHIN CHIN MAKING

Chin Chin is the crunchy deep-fried snack that originated from Nigeria.
It is an ideal light refreshment for you and your guests. The Nigerian Chin Chin can last for weeks if stored in an airtight container.
With no baking involved in this recipe, Chin Chin is one of the easiest Nigerian snacks to make.
To make some Nigerian Chin Chin, you will need the following ingredients.

Ingredients for Soft Chin Chin

1kg of Plain Flour
150ml of milk / 150g of powdered milk
275g of granulated sugar
250g of margarine
2 medium sized nutmegs | 2 teaspoonfuls of ground nutmeg
Vegetable Oil (for frying)

If you want the Chin Chin really crunchy, use the following quantities of ingredients

1kg of Plain Flour
75ml of milk / 75g of powdered milk
200g of granulated sugar
125g of margarine
2 medium sized nutmegs | 2 teaspoonfuls of ground nutmeg
Vegetable Oil
Directions

1. Mix the milk and sugar in a bowl and leave to soak.

Note: If you are using powdered milk, mix the milk and sugar. Then add 150ml of water for soft chin chin (75ml of water for crunchy chin chin), mix and leave to soak.
One way to get the sugar to dissolve fast is to grind it in a dry mill before mixing it with other ingredients.

2. In a separate bowl, mix the ground nutmeg and flour, then rub the margarine into the flour till it has mixed well with the flour, leaving no lumps.

3. Add the sugar/milk mixture to the margarine/flour mixture and mix by hand till a smooth dough is achieved.

4. Place the dough on a flat surface and start kneading gently with a dough roller.

5. When the dough is flat, cut into desired sizes.

6. Deep-fry in hot vegetable oil.

7. While frying, continuously stir the chin chin till you get a golden brown color.

8. Scoop the fried pieces onto a flat tray to dry and cool down quickly.

9. When the chin chin had cooled down completely, store in a dry, airtight container.

2. PLANTAIN CHIPS MAKING
 
I am yet to come across a Nigerian who doesn’t love plantain chips, where tastes vary is usually in Ripe (Sweet) Vs Unripe plantain chips.  I personally prefer unripe plantain chips.The one thing I check for when I buy packaged plantain chips is the type of oil it was fried in; more often than not companies fry their chips in Palm oil which adds extra saturated fat and calories to the chips. I recently decided to start making and storing my own chips, the resulting product is so yum, I had to share.

Ingredients:

*4 large green (unripe) plantains
*Salt to taste
*Vegetable, canola or groundnut oil for frying (about 3-6 cups)

Directions:
*Add oil to large pot with depth,  place on medium heat and leave to come to 375degrees ( you can always test the heat level of the oil with a small piece of plantain)

*In the meantime, peel the plantains. Using a mandoline or very sharp knife, thinly slice the plantains (length wise or width wise).

*Fry the plantain 8-12 strips at a time until golden. ( it is important that you do not crowd the pot with plantain , if you fry too many at a time there is potential for the chips to come out soggy )

*Transfer the plantains to a paper towel lined bow, sprinkle with salt.

*Repeat the last 2 steps until all the plantains are fried.

Healthy Variation: Make this recipe even healthier by baking the plantain. Simply pre heat the oven to 400f. Toss plantain slices with some oil and salt. Bake for 16 minutes turning once at the 8minutes mark.

Note: Experiment with flavours like Lime and chilli pepper. Simply add Lime juice + zest or powdered pepper before frying.

You can store the plantain in an airtight container for long term use

Plantain chips making has slowly become a billion naira business. Before, few people were interested in eating plantain chips. However, with the advent of heavy traffic hold-ups in most cities in Nigeria, millions have adopted it as the quick snack that can  help hold off hunger till they get home. Finding out the flavor that people prefer in your area and constant adaptation to meeting these tastes will keep you smiling to the bank on daily basis. Supermarkets are another important point of sale you should consider in this business.

3. SMALL CUP CAKES MAKING
Do you find yourself interested in baking? Then you could be successful in starting a cake business. Read on for six easy steps to start a cake business!
Believe it or not, I love to bake cakes and cookies! The warm smell of cinnamon and ginger wafting through the air is enough to satiate my children’s raving hunger pangs.
Baking cakes is fun and with two children running around the house, everything I made was consumed in less than a few hours. Friends, who were lucky enough to be around at the time of baking, always raved about the cooking and urged me to start a cake order business. “We’ll pay to eat a much bigger slice of those exotic goodies”, was the common refrain!

Ingredients
For the cakes
- 100g unsalted butter, softened
- 100g caster sugar
- 2 free-range eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
- 100g self-raising flour
- 1 tea spoon of vanilla extract
- ¼ tea spoon of fine salt
- 1 table spoon of milk

For the buttercream
- 125g unsalted butter, softened
- 200g icing sugar, sifted
- 1 table spoon milk
- 1 tea spoon vanilla extract
- lemon curd or jam for the topping (optional)

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line a 12-hole bun tin with 12 paper fairy cake cases. (Or for deep American-style cupcakes, line a 6-hole muffin tin with larger muffin cases.)

2. Place the softened butter in a large bowl then beat with an electric hand-whisk until pale and fluffy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until fully combined.

3. Add a little of the beaten egg to the butter mixture, then whisk again. Gradually add the egg, little by little, whisking after each addition. It’s important to go slowly here, as adding too much egg at once can cause the mix to split. If it does split, simply add a tablespoon of the flour and whisk until the batter is smooth again.

4. Sift the flour into the bowl. Using a large metal spoon or spatula, fold the flour into the cake mix.

5. Add the vanilla and the salt and stir to combine. Add the milk to get the cake mix to a soft dropping consistency, where a heaped spoonful of mixture falls off the spoon after tipping it for few seconds.

6. Using two dessert spoons (one to scoop and the other to push the mix into the tin), fill the paper cases half full with the batter, filling them equally.

7. Bake the fairy cakes for 15 minutes in the middle of the oven, until golden-brown and the cakes spring back when pressed lightly. (Bake cupcakes for 18-20 minutes.)

8. When cool enough to handle, lift the cakes onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely. The cakes can be frozen for up to a month, or will keep fresh in an airtight tin for a few days.

9. To make the buttercream, put the butter into a large bowl and beat with electric hand beaters until smooth and creamy. Sift in the icing sugar, then work it into the butter, starting slowly at first, then beating more vigorously once all the sugar is combined. Add the milk and the vanilla, then beat until creamy and smooth. If the mixture is too stiff, add a little more milk. You can colour the buttercream at this stage.

10. To make butterfly cakes, cut the top off each cake using a small serrated knife – angling the knife in slightly so that you make a concave cut. Cut the tops in half, to make two ‘wings’. Spread or pipe a heaped teaspoon of buttercream into the dip you have made in the top of each cake, and spoon on a little lemon curd or jam. Place the wings into the buttercream, and dust with a little icing sugar.

TIPS AND TRICKS ON HOW TO START A CUP CAKE BUSINESS


*If you wanted more business, you have to make sure your cakes and cookies are good/better looking and tastier than the local ones.

*you tapped all those friends who were willing to pay for your goodies and then utilized them to get your business going by word of mouth publicity. You can even got them to distribute flyers and discount coupons for your cake business!

*you can then approached local cake and coffee houses for taking on your samples and selling your cakes. Although a few will refuse, many will like your products, and that will give you a tremendous boost.

*contact local wedding planners to show your cakes, show your ability for wedding cakes. Believe me a well made wedding cake can really get you going with the wedding planners! And through them, you can managed to get referrals to several party organizers as well as event mangers.

*Free publicity always counts. In a bid for recognition, you can sponsor quite a few local events and church fundraising activities, as well as offering free sample products to the local orphanage. This will create really great exposure and word of mouth publicity free of charge!

*After a sufficient amount of publicity was generated using press releases, you can decide it is time to keep the interest going and baked a really big cake for the local orphanage in the form of a giant cookie. The cake was cut and the proceeds went to charity. You have to spend a really great amount of time to do this!

Cupcakes are a delicious snack that can be sold through a cupcake shop, bakery or online. Before opening a physical store to sell your cupcake creations, you may want to start off selling your treats online or at local events. Make money on your cupcakes by charging enough to cover the overhead to make the treats. Compare the prices charged by other cupcake sellers to stay competitive in the market.

4. EXERCISE BOOK PRODUCTION
The market for exercise book is not in doubt, as note books are needed in our schools – primary, secondary, universities, college, polytechnics, offices etc.

EQUIPMENT
Equipment includes ruling machine, cutting machine and other accessories.

PRODUCTION PROCESS
Production entails the procurement of the raw material paper, feeding the paper into the machine for ruling and cutting in the required sizes.
Production can be done in two ways depending on the capitals at the disposal of the investor. Let me highlight the method of where the investor will produce without acquiring the necessary equipments that might be too expensive for small scale investors. All the producer need to do is to buy the paper and contract the printing, ruling, cutting to an established printing organization. He pays the service charge and collects the finished products for distribution. Any small investor can conveniently start the production of exercise book with as small as N50, 000 or more here in Nigeria. The quantity to be printed/produce will be determined by the capital at his disposal.

Investors can also approach school owners for the production of their school note books of various sizes and types.
Marketing of this product can be done through book shops and other distributors etc. Willing investors can always find profitable entry point in this business.

5. POP CORN MAKING

 Popcorn is a house hold snack made by roasting moistened yellow corn at certain temperature to form a pop. Popcorn making as a business has undergone some changes over the years. Some people add colourants to make it look colourful and attractive, while some even add sugar to make it tastier. Popcorn is the easiest snack to make at home, and it can be consumed by both children and adults.
       One interesting thing about the popcorn is its marketability. In some exalted places like hotels and eateries, popcorn Is sold at outrageous prices.

WHAT ARE THE MATERIALS NEEDED TO MAKE POPCORN

1. Pop corn (Yellow maize)
2. Groundnut or Vegetable oil (Optional)
3 Sugar or salt (Optional)
4. Cooking pot. (in place of popcorn making machine)
5. Packaging materials like nylon bags.
6. sealing machine

What are the steps involved in making popcorn.

STEP1. Put your pot on fire and pour a little oil into it.
STEP2. Add a Cup or two of yellow maize depending on the quantity you want.

STEP4. Sprinkle sugar or salt to taste (optional)

STEP5. Stir the mixture to ensure they are well mixed and allow to steam for about 10 to 15 minutes until you start hearing the popping sound.

STEP6. Allow all the maize to pop before pouring out the popcorn onto a tray to cool.

Those are the simple steps involved in making popcorn at home. Note that the difference between home made popcorn and commercial popcorn making, is that the home made popcorn is made using your kitchen pot, while the commercial popcorn is made using the popcorn machine. The electric popcorn maker can be locally constructed.

WHO ARE YOUR POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS?

schools/students
super markets
restaurants/eateries
churches/mosques
Offices etc.

I wouldn’t advice you to go around the streets hawking popcorn because their are better ways to do it. You can decide to be supplying the schools and supermarkets in your area and still make your money.
I hope this post has helped you? In my next post, I will teach you how to make popcorn, and I will tell you where you can buy your own popcorn making machine to start popping some money into your pockets.

6. CHALK MAKING
 It is no doubt that school chalk production is very lucrative in Nigeria because of the ever increasing number of public and private schools nationwide. This is in accordance with one of the agenda of the present administration which is to make education available and affordable to every citizen.  This has significantly increased demand of school chalk within the last 10 years. To meet up with this increased demand, individuals and corporate organizations have delved into school chalk production and supply with a bid to balancing the demand and supply chain. This has not been successful, as schools keep springing up on daily basis while the demand keeps skyrocketing. This has created a very big investment opportunity especially for individuals who intend to go into small scale chalk production business.
SCHOOL CHALK PRODUCTION
Let me start by saying that school chalk production is a very simple and straight forward process. Anybody can learn how to do it and apply it successfully without supervision. For this reason, school chalk production has been incorporated into the curriculum of almost every skill acquisition center in Nigeria.
School chalk production can be done in the comfort of your home. You don’t need to establish a big factory. The major equipment for school chalk production is the Chalk Mould which is primarily used for molding the chalk to give it its characteristic shape, size, and length.
RAW MATERIALS NEEDED FOR SCHOOL CHALK PRODUCTION
1)    The Plaster of Paris or as it is generally called “POP” is the major raw material for school chalk production. Plaster of Paris (POP) is a white powder; scientifically called “Calcium Carbonate” that when mixed with water, forms a quick-hardening paste. It is used in the arts for sculpting and making casts, and in medicine for molding casts around broken limbs. Below is a picture of powdered POP




2    2)Lubricants: this is another important raw material for school chalk production. It could be any cooking oil or coconut oil, mixed with Kerosene. It is used for lubricating the chalk mould to prevent the POP from sticking to it.
3)      Clean Water: water is a very important element in school chalk production, because it is used for mixing all the ingredients.
4)       Ultramarine blue (optional) ultramarine blue is used to give the chalk a dark blue or sky blue colour depending on its concentration. If you intend to produce only white chalk, then you wouldn’t need to add ultramarine blue.

MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT NEEDED

1) Chalk Mould: this is the major equipment used in school chalk production. It is either made of rubber or metal but usually with a wooden frame. But there are some chalk moulds that are completely made of metal. The moulds defer according to the number of holes or cavities they have. Some could have 240 holes or even more. The number of holes or cavities a chalk mould has determines the number of chalk sticks it can produce at a time. Below is a picture of a typical chalk mould for the benefit of those who have never seen one before.

2) Scraper: this is a flat metal object used for scraping the surface of the chalk mould.

3) Paint Brush: this is used for applying the lubricant on the mould before filling it up with POP

4) Dryer: The dryer is primarily used for drying the chalk after it has been removed from the mould. The drier is electrically operated and is mostly used in large scale school chalk production. For small scale school chalk production, sun drying is perfectly okay to save cost.

5) Hand Glove: This is basically used for protecting the hand during the mixing of the POP and water.

6) Packaging Materials: these could include nylon bags and branded carton packs.

SCHOOL CHALK PRODUCTION PROCESS

STEP1 Pour some POP into a container, preferably a bucket, and add water. Use your hand to mix the POP with the water until it forms a paste.

STEP2 Using the paint brush, lubricate the surface of the chalk mould properly with a solution of cooking oil + kerosene, to prevent the POP from sticking to the mould.

STEP3 Arrange the mould, then pour the pasty mixture into it and allow it for 15 to 20 minutes to solidify before loosening the mould.

STEP4 When you are sure that the chalk has formed, loose the mould and collect the chalk produced for sun drying or through mechanical dryer.

STEP5 After sun drying for 2 to 3 days, package the chalk in branded carton packs and your school chalk is ready for sale.

7. ICE CREAM MAKING

Do you love seeing people enjoying themselves?  If yes, then consider starting a small ice cream business and see it blossom into a big business. When you open an ice cream shop you will have the opportunity to make people happy every day as they enjoy special treats, celebrate special occasions and you make money from this idea.
The following are ways you can start an ice cream shop.

Decide what Type of Business: Depending on where you live, you can either start a franchise or start your own independent ice cream shop.

With franchise, all the system is already in place including guiding you, providing the store layout and design, training, ingredients, supplies. However, you will be required to make upfront capital.
But if you are starting your own business and not using franchise, this will allow you start with your own budget as well as have the freedom to determine all you need to do to make money from this business.

Research the business:  Never start a business without research. You will need to go deep into understanding your area, visit others who are running the same business (your supposed competitors). This will give you idea on how you  will carry out your business if you find it lucrative. It will give an idea of what kind of cart  or store you will need.
My advise here is for you to start with a low fat, frozen yogurt shop as this will help you if you live in areas that has lots of people who are interested in healthy living.
In researching your business also, you will need to look at statistics of those who consume more of ice creams in your area. This will help you in decision making. Visit trade websites and centers to find out.

Get a Permit: You should not start a business without making it legal. Contact your government health department to know what permit you will need to start this business. If you also need to operate a mobile cart, you should tell the department that is in charge fully of all you intend to do including equipment,  location and business requirement.  All these will help you.

List your Line of Complimentary Products: At this time, you will need to write down and develop a list of  product lines you will sell along with your ice cream shop. These will include bottled drinks, cookies, wafers etc

Consider Needed Equipments: It is important that you make a list of all the equipment you will need and research them. They include carts, condiments, coolers,  freezers, soft-serve machines, storage shelves, a soda machine, tables, chairs, fudge warmers, prep tables, mixing bowls, pasteurizers  and ice cream vendors or dairy farmers.
Location This Time: This is a very crucial factor to the success of your business. You will need to chose a location for your shop in an area where it will sell. This could be near plazas, busy shopping centers, a family friendly populated area, car parks and a place with high foot traffic.
Also, you could go extra mile in making sure the place has easy access for your clients as well as for delivery drivers .

Your location should have adequate electricity plus  back up power supply. Ensure that your shop has a size of at least 400 to 4,000 square feet.  Always ensure you have adequate storage for your ice cream, and prepare for large delivery at any time.

Write Your Business Plan and Mission Statement : Never start any business without a blueprint or business plan. This will guide you. This is your framework for your business and keep going back to it so you will not deviate.
Your business plan includes market research, target audience, design ideas for your shop, potential locations around the city, marketing methods, financing your business and understanding your competition. Your business plan must be written to give you a road map of your business as well as direct those who are going to work with you as a team

There is no doubt that starting a lucrative small ice cream shop is a nice business to start so long as you have the right requirement and knowledge.

Ingredients:

- 4 free-range eggs, yolks only
- 100g/3½oz golden caster sugar
- 1 tsp cornflour, optional
- 300ml/½ pint double cream
- 300ml/½ pint full-fat milk
- 1 vanilla pod

Method:

1. Make sure that you have plenty of room spare in the freezer. First, separate the eggs, placing the yolks in a large bowl. (You will not need the whites for this recipe. You can use them to make meringues.)

2. Add the sugar to the egg yolks and whisk until pale and thick.

3. Add the cornflour (if using) and whisk well to incorporate into the egg yolks.

4. Put the cream and milk into a medium saucepan.

5. Cut the vanilla pod open lengthways and scrape out the seeds with the back of a knife, then add to the cream and milk.

6. Heat the cream and milk until just below boiling. Slowly pour the hot cream and milk onto the eggs and sugar, whisking as you go.

7. Sieve the custard into a clean pan, and set it over a very low heat. Stir the custard constantly with a wooden spoon, paying special attention to the corners of the pan, until it is steaming and has thickened slightly. The custard is ready when you can draw a clear line through it on the back of the wooden spoon. This can take up to 10 minutes.

8. Tip the custard into a large, shallow, freezer-proof container, and allow to cool to room temperature (you can speed this up by sitting the tub of custard in a large bowl of iced water).

9. Once at room temperature, place a lid on the custard and chill in the fridge overnight.

10. Once chilled, transfer the custard to the freezer and take it out every hour, for three hours, to whisk it with an electric handheld whisk. This will disperse the ice crystals and keep it smooth.

11. Then leave the ice-cream in the freezer for a final freeze, until it is solid.

12. Remove the ice cream from the freezer 10 minutes before serving, so that it’s easy to scoop.

9. CANDLE MAKING

Give an outlet to your creative faculties by making beautiful candles at home and turn it into a profitable business by opening a home made candle store. Making candles at home is very very easy if you have free time available and you can make use of your skills.

It can lead to a profitable business and the trends are changing now and people now prefer giving gifts that touch the heart with their beautiful designs and heart touching fragrances.

You don’t even need lots of equipment to start a home made candle store. With only the basic things like wax, burner and wicks, you can start candle making at home, and as you make progress, you can buy advanced equipment and moulds for better and beautiful products.

This article will help you decide the best strategy for a good business and how to turn it into a successful enterprise.

With their distinguished and sweet fragrances, candles, these days, are considered as one of the easiest ways to express one’s emotions. So, if you know how to make candles and have a creative side to your nature, its time to start a home made candle store and establish a business of your own.

Things to consider before starting
Starting a business not only requires a certain amount of capital, it also requires careful planning and preparation. Planning and preparing before actually starting a business are important as they provide an insight into what is needed to establish and run a successful business. While a home made candle store business does not require a big capital and heavy investment, it needs some planning and consideration on how to successfully launch it.

Anyone who enjoys candle making and knows the art of moulding wax into different shapes and sizes with beautiful fragrances can get into this business. However, there are some important things to be considered before you start a home made candle store. Just making great smelling and beautiful looking candles at home is not the only thing important to start a candle store.

Some important things to be considered before home made candle making is turned into a full fledge candle store business are:
• Make sure your candles are unique and offer that distinctive touch which no other home made candle manufacturer offers. This will be one thing that will attract more customers as there is bound to be one home made candle shop in every area.
•Candle making process is not a complicated one, but it requires time and attention to detail for safety reasons as well as product quality. Thus, you need to really focus on both the candle making as well as the quality control aspect when starting this business. You cannot expect to churn out the low quality or substandard products and expect them to sell like hot cakes.
•Decorate your candles well enough to make them look good and offer them as a gift pack. People love buying home made candles that not only look and smell good but are also very presentable as gifts.
•Candle making is a highly versatile craft; it encompasses unlimited opportunities for creativity. Candles can be dipped, moulded, rolled, fused, layered, sculptured or experimented with any combination of processes from dyeing to paint or tinted. They can be scented or can have embedded materials such as beads or shells, coated or whipped to make them more beautiful and attractive for sale.
•You should have enough capital to start a home made candle store. While candle making supplies and scents do not cost much, running a shop can be expensive. You have to consider the shop rent, utility bills and other expenses till the profits start pouring in. For this, you need to have a good business plan that will give you an idea of what to expect when starting a home made candle store business.

It is recommended that you give serious thought to all these things that are needed before starting a home made candle store business for a successful business venture. Their demand in homes, restaurant, churches as well as gifts makes them a good business choice. Careful planning and complete information about operating things and managing them can help a lot in establishing and running a successful candle making store.

The first thing to start a successful home made candle store is to find a cost effective supplier who can provide you candle making equipment and supplies at low cost. While a craft store is a good place to go when starting out and learning, as a businessperson, you will need to purchase from a wholesale operation in order to keep the business profitable and expenses low.

Make enough candles for a beginning stock in various designs, colours and scents as samples. As you are just starting the business, minimise the costs by creating candles to order, but you will need enough ready-made candles to demonstrate all the types you can make in order to get more business.

Determine the prices of candles very carefully. Assess the costs of your materials and your labour per candle and compare prices of similar products from other craft candle makers. Don’t charge too much as overpricing can discourage them from buying if they can get the same type of candles at much affordable rates from somewhere else.

Create printed promotional materials of your candle store and play on the line that they are all home made to sooth the customers and light their lives. You will need high-quality photographs of candles and attractive business cards to promote your store. Consider hiring a photographer and graphic designer if you cannot do these things on your own.

You can use these pictures on brochures and leaflets for advertising. This will all help in promoting your home made candles store and make it more successful. Promote your business among friends and family by giving them candles in gifts and ask them to spread the word about your store.

Another way to make your home made candles store more successful is by selling candles at craft fairs and small stalls in markets. They can really help you make good sales as people in such places are on the lookout for small but nice things to buy.

You can also sell to other local shops apart from selling at your own candle store. Talk to other handicraft and arts suppliers such as salons, stationeries, among others if they are willing to display your candles for a small percentage of the sales amount.

Raw Materials
All the raw materials needed for candle production are cheaply available in Nigeria. They include paraffin wax, wick/thread, pigment, and stearic acid. Stearic acid is a solid saturated fatty acid from vegetable and animal fats and oil. A small quantity is required to blend the paraffin wax. Stearic acid is available at the various vegetable oil making companies across the country.

Machinery/Equipment
The necessary machinery for candle production are in different sizes depending on the number of candle sticks required. They include:

(i)    molding machines
(ii)    paraffin  wax boiler
(iii)    automatic cooling system
(iv)    industrial gas cylinder
(v)    water tank.

All the machines can be locally fabricated. The moulding machines are in different sizes and the costs vary from one fabricator to another. The different sizes are:

       24 sticks of candle making machine
       50 sticks of candle making machine
      100 sticks of candle making machine
      200 sticks of candle making machine.

All the machines can be operated manually.

Production Process
Candle making follows six simple production processes as enumerated below:

Stage 1
A melting pan is filled with paraffin wax, stearic acid and pigment (if coloured candle is desired).

Stage 2
Heat the whole mixture to about 120 degrees centigrade and not below 100 degrees centigrade. Too much or too low heat affects the quality and shrinking of the candles. Therefore, it must be ensured that the 120 oc maximum and 100oc minimum are maintained.

Stage 3
Put wick into each candle mould.

Stage4
Drain molten mixture into candle mould.

Stage 5
Allow cooling of the mixture in the mould by passing water through the surface of the mould.

Stage 6
Manually drive a piston plate into mould to bring out the end product.

Market
The end product of the production process is packed in nylon bags according to already predetermined numbers and packaged in cartons ready for the market. Candle is a mass consumption item widely used for lighting and illumination in households, churches and other religious houses, hotels and restaurants. The demand for candles is on the increase in recent times due to incessant power outage across the country. Artistic and decorative candles also have very good market potentials.

Profitability
Great profit abounds in this business as research has shown that a 200 per cent return on investment is achievable in the first year of operation which guarantees short pay back period.
 Interested investors can contact the writer for a cost-benefit analysis of the project.

Investment Cost Estimates       N
Pre-operational expenses      50,000
Factory Premises                50,000
Machinery & Equipment       100,000
Working Capital                  40,000
Contingency                      10,000
Total Investment Outlay      250,000

10. COLD WATER STARCH PRODUCTION

Process
Packaging materials

Cold water starch can be packaged in sachet, bottles and spray cans depending on the type. Cartons are also needed for bulk packaging. Sizes of packs should depend on market demand. However, 20g, 25g, 30g, 50g sachets are in the markets 0.5 litres, 1 litre and 4 litres packs for the liquid type can be found. The aerosol type include 250mls, 450mls, 500mls etc. The packs are well labeled with the appropriate information like maker, quantity, registration etc.

Space Required

The standard requirement is a minimum of four rooms excluding a cloakroom. However, a cottage scale can start with a room or two. Bigger scale will require bigger space.

Labour

A skilled hand can produce up to 1 ton of the product per day if the system is automated. Far less will be make if operation is manual. Except about 250kg of finished and package product for manual operation by one hand.

There are three or four stages of making cold water starch depending on where you start from some of these stages can be omitted by a small scale to save cost.
Cold water starch powder

(a) Modification of raw starch methods
Dry method: Here the roller mills are heated to above 1000C. The raw starch mixed with ash is fed into the rollers. The starch gells as it rolls over the hot cylinders of the rollers. The gelled starch now in cakes or flakes are collected and grinded in the pulveriser. Perfume and colorant may be added at this stage.

Roller formulation: 50kg batch
Cassava (or other) starch - 49.5kg
Soda ash (optional) - 0.5kg
Total - 50 kg

This mixture is rolled in the hot cylinder of the rolers

Pulveriser formulation: 50 kg batch

Gelled starch mixture - 50 kg
Colourant (optional) - 1 TSP
Total - 50kg

The mixture is grinded

The grinded starch is now packed in the required sachets and cartons for sale. This method is expensive because of the cost of the rollers.

Wet method

Here the mixture as in roller formulation above is boiled with some water to gell. The gelled starch mixture is dried in the flash dryer then pulverized as in the pulveriser formulation above.

Boiler formulation: 50 kg batch

Cassava (or other) starch - 49.5kg
Soda Ash (optional) - 0.5 KG
Water (to form sturry) - 20 kg
Total - 70 kg
Note: while boiling, the product must be in constant mixing. The gelled starch is collected and dried in the chosen dryer. This is to remove the water used during boiling. The dried starch, now in cake form is placed in the pulveriser and grinded with or without colourants and perfumes. The product is then packaged as required in the market. This is also expensive because of the dryer.

Dextrin method
 This method is most suitable for micro and small scale entrepreneurs. It eliminates the use of roller mills, flash dryer and pulverisers.

(b) Cold water starch powder: 50 kg Batch
Dextrin - 49.5 kg
Soda ash light - 0.5 kg
Perfume (optional) - TSP
Colourant (powder) - 1 tsp (optional or blue)
Total - 50 kg

Note: TSP means tablespoonful. Tsp means teaspoonful.

PROCESSING: The materials as above simply measured out and mixed manuallym if batch is below 100kg or in ribbon mixer for bigger batches. When homogeneous, it is packed as required.

(c) Cold water starch powder: 50 kg Batch
Dextrin or gelled starch - 20kg
Polyvinyl Acetate (PVA) - 10kg
Water - 20kg
Formalin - 200 g
Perfume (optional) - 1 TSP
Total - 50 kg Apr.


PROCESSING:

(1) Gel local cassava starch with hot water: This can ba done by mixing the raw starch with equal amount of cold (ordinary) water. The mixture is the mixed with about 4 to 5 times quantity of boiling water (1000C) and properly mixed till homogeneous.

(2) The gelled starch or dextrin is mixed with the water in the formulation above. When smooth, the other ingredients (PVA, formalin etc) are then added and mixed well for feeling into the appropriate bottles for sale.


Note: The use of cassava starch here instead of dextrin ensures very good profit without changing the desired quality.


(3) Cold water starch Aeroslo. 50 kg Batch

Dextrin or gelled starch -10 kg

Polyvinyl Acetate - 10 kg

Isopropanol (IPA) - 2 kg

Water -28 kg

Formalin - 200 g

Total - 50 kg. Apr.

Note: Colourant and or perfume may be added as in other processing. Mix all other ingredients together except IPA. When homogenenous, add IPA and mix very well. Pack or fill into the aerosol cans with theaerosol filling machine. The IPA guarantees the spray ability of the product and its fast drying. For better spraying IPA can be increased if desired.

QUALITY PARAMETERS:

1. Product should stiffen cotton fabric well compare with accepted brands in its market.
2. Odour must be well controlled. Use good fragrance.
3. Spoilage. This is especially for the liquid type. However if the powder type is not well dried, it can also decay. Use good preservative (formalin) to avoid bad odour in the liquid types.
Consult a good chemical consultant or a public analyst for detailed quality control tests and analysis.

11. POLISH PRODUCTION

How to Make Shoe Polish

Equipment and Chemicals

Chemicals
Paraffin wax
Paraffin oil
Dye stuff (different colors)

Equipment

*Source of heat, which may be gas burner, stove, firewood or charcoal for dissolving the wax.
*Small mixer,
*scale balance for weighing
*Pot
*Pouring utensils and
*Cooling equipment for the wax to set.

Production Procedure

*Put the pot on your source of heat
*Put one lump of paraffin wax into the pot and allow to dissolve
*Add about one litre of paraffin oil
*Heat up until a homogenous solution is formed
*Add  one quarter of the required dye (i.e. the type of color of polish you  wish to produce)
*Stir thoroughly until an even mixture is formed
*Pour into your containers and allow it to cool
*Package and store in cool  dry place for sale.

Economic Viability:
This production process could be done with a start-up capital of about twenty thousand Naira (N20,000) as of the time of writing this. Since the shoe polish is a daily consumable, its return on investment could be 100% annually. But be reminded that, since you are starting out, you need some razor sharp marketing skills.

Target Market:
As stated above, you need good marketing skills, which is of course one of the skills of a good entrepreneur. You may decide to hawk your product from house to house, creating awareness for it, you can go to schools, announce in your  church and other churches, go to shops and supermarkets, etc. But make sure to offer you product  at a lower price than what is obtainable in the market with other products. Remember there are other polish products already in the market, so the key to success is to make good quality product and offer it at a reduced price, if not your product will remain in the shelf.

12. SOYA MILK DRINK

Making soy milk at home is cheaper, healthier and easier than you think. Make a batch of this great tasting soy milk drink.

Ingredients:
*1 cup or 160 g dry organic soy beans
*6-8 cups of water (1.5 to 2 liters)
*salt, to taste
*sugar, to taste and optional
*vanilla, cinnamon, chocolate or flavoring of choice, optional

Equipment Needed:
*strainer or fine sieve
*muslin or cheese cloth
*large pot
*blender or food processor

Instructions

*Wash and sort the soy beans then *place in a large bowl and fill with water. Allow to soak overnight,
*change the water at least once and if needed add more water if beans soak it up.
The next day beans should be doubled or more in size.
*Check that they are soft and can easily be cut through, if not they need to soak longer.
* Rinse thoroughly.
*If you would like to remove the outer shells do so now otherwise skip this step.
*Pour the soaked beans into a large bowl and cover with water.
*Grab some beans between your palms and start rubbing them together. This will loosen the shells so continue to do so until they separate.
*Place the beans back into the water and give a gentle stir with your hands. The shells will float to the top of the water or just above the beans,
*scoop then out and rinse the soybeans.
*Place a cheese or muslin cloth over the strainer and set on top of a large pot. *Now we blend the soybeans. I like to do so in batches.
*Place 1 cup of the soaked soybeans in the blender then add either 2 or 3 cups of water (500 or 750 ml)
*Cover and blend for about 3-5 minutes until the beans have completely broken down.
*Pour liquid into the cloth covered strainer.
*Allow to strain for a minute or two then bring all the ends of the cloth together and twist until all the liquid is squeezed out.
*Remove the ground soybean/okara and set aside, place cloth back on strainer.
*Blend the next batch of soaked beans and water, strain and repeat until all of the soybeans have been processed and strained. (There are 3 batches with the amount of beans I soaked.
*Place the pot on the stove over medium low heat and bring to a boil, stir from time to time. Keep an eye on the soy milk because it can bubble and over flow.
*Once the milk has boiled add the salt, flavoring and sweeteners you may want to add.
*Turn the heat down to low and allow to cook for another 20 minutes, again keep an eye on it otherwise it will make an ugly mess on the stove.
*Turn the heat off and allow the milk to completely cool before you use it or store it. Scoop out the “skin” or film that forms on top. Discard it or use it in cooking.

Once soy milk has come to room temperature it can be stored in the refrigerator. Make sure to remove any skin that may have formed on top. Store in the refrigerator no more than one week.
Note:
  I used a total of 7 cups (1.750 liters) of water. You choose how thick you want the soy milk by either adding more or less water.

13. 13. ZOBO DRINK
Zobo drink is a Nigerian beverage made from dried Roselle plant flowers. The drink is also known as Roselle drink and called Sorrel drink in the Carribean.
Zobo has a sour taste so it can clash with sugars. This why I prefer to keep my Zobo drink as natural as possible hence I use only natural ingredients when preparing the drink. You may add artificial flavours and sweeteners such as Nutri-C and sugar if you wish.

Ingredients:

The following are what I used to make 5 litres of Zobo drink. You can get more with the same quantity of ingredients depending on the concentration you want. If you will be using artificial flavours, you need to add more water.

*2 De Rica* cups of dry Zobo leaves
*1 glove of garlic
*1 big piece of ginger
*1 big very ripe pineapple
*Enough water.
(* In Nigeria, when we use up the tomato paste in the 850g tin of any brand of tomato paste, we wash the tin and use it for measuring food items and ingredients. This measuring cup is fondly called De Rica cup because it is the most popular brand of tomato paste.)

To garnish:
Fell free to add any sliced citrus fruits of your choice: orange, lemon, lime.

Before you make the Zobo drink:
1. Wash the dry Zobo leaves repeatedly in cold water. Zobo leaves are usually very dusty so make sure you wash off all the dust. It will seem like all the flavours/colour of the zobo are being washed off but don't worry, you will see that the dry zobo leaves still have a lot of the colour intact when you start boiling it.

2. Wash, peel and cut the pineapple into thin slices. Some people add the peel of the pineapple when making the zobo drink but I don't do this simple because I always think that dirt is stuck in the peels of pineapples :)

3. Peel and cut the ginger and garlic into tiny places

DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING THE ZOBO DRINK

*Put the washed zobo leaves into a deep pot.
*Add the pineapples and pour enough water to cover the contents of the pot and then some.
*Start cooking at medium to high heat and let it boil for 5 minutes.
*Add the ginger and the garlic, add more water and keep boiling for at least 30 minutes. This is the time it will take for the zobo leaves to be completely soft and the pineapples tender.
*Turn off the heat and set aside to cool down completely.
*When cool, wringe out the juice from the pineapples and zobo leaves, leaving only the zobo juice in the pot.
*Pour the juice through a sieve to take out the remaining large particles then pour it through a chiffon cloth to remove the tiniest particles.
*Add any artificial flavours of your choice at this time and stir.
*Pour into bottles and refrigerator.
You are done

14. CUSTARD POWDER PRODUCTION

Since we have established the fact that the demand for Custard is high in the Nigeria, so let now consider the requirement for setting up a small scale Custard production business in the country.
Custard Production (Startup Requirement)
Here is the requirement for setting up a small scale Custard production business.
STARTUP CAPITAL FOR CUSTARD PRODUCTION: You can setup a small scale home base Custard production business in any part of the country with less than N150, 000 and you are sure to make above N300, 000 monthly producing a 2g Custard in plastic bucket that sells for between N720 to N800 each in the market.
REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT FOR CUSTARD PRODUCTION: NAFDAC registration is necessary but you can go ahead to setup and start producing your Custard while processing your NAFDAC number for N30, 000 only. But is something you must put in place to prevent NAFDAC from disturbing you while your production is on, this I will discuss in another article coming soon!
EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENT FOR CUSTARD PRODUCTION:
The following machines and equipment are needed for the Custard production: Electric Oven, milling machine, mixing machine, weighing instruments and drying machine, Sealing machine. All these machines and equipment can be procured locally from machine and equipment fabricators in Nigeria.
NOTE: To setup a very small Custard production business you can do without some of the machines list above but when it’s time to expand your production capacity you need them.
RAW MATERIALS REQUIREMENT FOR CUSTARD PRODUCTION:
The raw materials needed for Custard production includes: Edible Corn Starch, flavor, concentrated Vitamins, plastic containers for packaging.
All the above materials are available in any major market here in Nigeria.

METHOD OF PRODUCTION
This is nice.Try it out.
Ingredient Quantity: (
1) Corn flour / corn, starch 100%( total mixture)
(2)Egg yellow colour /Deep red colour 0.5% - 0.7% of the total mixture.
(3) Flavour e.g. banana, milk or VANILLA etc. 0.5% - 1% of the total mixture.
(4) Preservative (Sodium Benzoate) 0.2% - 0.4% of the total mixture.
FOR 1000g of custard use this below: NO cassava starch.
(1) Corn flour / corn, starch 1000g( total mixture)
(2)Egg yellow colour /Deep red colour 5g – 7g of the total mixture.
 (3) Flavour e.g. banana, milk or VANILLA etc. 5g – 10g of the total mixture.
(4) Preservative (Sodium Benzoate) 2g –4g of the total mixture.

Procedure:
 1)Weigh out the quantity of corn starch and pour into a rotary mixer OR JUST STIR .
2)After about 10 minutes of continuous mixing add the remaining materials ( i.e flavour, colourant, preservative, e.t.c) and let the mixing continue for another 20 minutes.
3)Sieve the product and pack into containers.