Japa: Top 5 Lucrative Side Hustles For Nigerians To Survive In UK, Canada

The United Kingdom (UK) and Canada are some of the best countries which Nigerians travel to for job opportunities and other lucrative side hustles.

As these advanced countries offer diverse visa programmes with blue-collar jobs for nationals to relocate, there are other side hustles or skill sets that Nigerians engage in to earn extra income.

In this article, there are top five lucrative side hustles for Nigerians in the UK and Canada.

1. Childcare 

Childcare is the job of providing care and supervision for children when their parents are away. The childcare workers operate in hospitals, and schools but also work at private homes.

This childcare, also known as child-minding, is a profitable side hustle in the UK, especially among Nigerians who go about their official jobs and look for childcare workers to tend to their wards.

A Nigerian working as a private childcare worker can earn up to £200 from four families in a day by collecting £50 per family for the period they would be absent. 

Speaking with Vanguard, a Nigerian student of Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who spoke as an anonymous said childcare is a profitable side hustle in the UK.

“The ladies do child-minding, also known as childcare. Officially here in the UK, childcare is £4.5 per hour. Like me, who has three kids now, I pay £13.5 per hour. But, Nigerians doing this will render these services for £50 till you go to work and come back,” the source said.

“You don’t usually see immigrants taking their wards to official daycare. There are groups of women who do this in Manchester, Leeds and other places. All they need to do is post these services on the WhatsApp groups and they will negotiate.”

2. Photography 

Photography is a lucrative job in Canada as people need pictures at events as memories for themselves or their family members.

This particular side hustle can fetch these professionals up to CA$200 within 30 minutes not interfering with their regular jobs. This skill can be practised anywhere in Canada.

A Nigerian who resides in Edmonton, Alberta, and works as a program officer in the Canadian civil service and preferred anonymity disclosed this to Vanguard.

“Number one (skill set) would be photography. It pays more than a regular job. You could make CA$200 within 30 minutes while making the same CA$200 when working a regular 9 to 5 job. It’s highly lucrative. And it can be anywhere in Canada. For photography, it depends on how established you are. I have seen quotes from CA$200 to CA$1000 for 1 hour shoot,” the source said

3. Catering and hairdressing

Catering and hairdressing are side hustles that bring income for Nigerian women who reside in Canada.

These two skills can earn you nothing less than CA$100 per service and the good thing is that they can be rendered in any province you migrate to in Canada.

The Canadian source further said, “For the women, some do hairdressing or catering. Also anywhere in Canada. Not restricted by location. Patronage for all these can be by any race. Catering and hairdressing can be from CA$100 minimum.”

4. Phone and laptop repairs

The UK source also disclosed that other skill sets that are profitable in the UK include phone-fixing, bricklaying and tile-fitting among others.

“Some do hair-making, guys are fixing phones and laptops. Some are fixing tiles, and some are doing bricklaying, but you need a license to grow in that. Fixing phones and laptops is negotiable. It depends on what you want to do but it cannot be less than £20, £30. Some can be £40 to £50,” the source said.

The source said these services are among the Nigerian community as part-time work which are reasonable for people to survive with.

“This one na Naija to Naija o. Na side hustle na, not for full-time. Everyone dey do full time in warehouses, care homes. Some do stewards and security. Lucky ones do customer care or work in bars and restaurants,” the source added.

5. Food delivery

The Canadian source added that food delivery also pays in Canada while mentioning that selling of products and importation of goods are also lucrative.

According to the Canadian source, a majority of male folks engage in food delivery and this can earn them a minimum of CA$20 per hour.

“There are others but these are the most common that I’ve seen. It’s subjective though. Some also sell stuff, import from Nigeria and sell especially food. Then there is food delivery. That’s like number one for guys. Average pay is $20 per hour. You choose your hours and when you work depending on how many deliveries you can make within an hour plus tips,” the source added.