10 Profitable Digital Business Ideas to Start in Africa 2022

Despite the fact that roughly one-fourth of Africa has access to internet connection, the continent has the largest potential to grow. According to Statista, countries like Kenya and Libya already have an internet penetration of about 85 percent, while Nigeria, Mauritius, and Seychelles are at more than 70 percent.

The numbers are only going to grow in the future, and this growth means opportunities to make money on the internet.

Others have been making money online for years, and it is never too late to get started because the world is becoming more digitized with each passing year.

It would be a waste not to take advantage of potential opportunities, as there are many ways to monetize an idea on the internet; you can start pretty slow and learn from the basics.

The most important thing is to actually get started and continue trying even if the first attempt is not successful.

To help you with that, here are 10 solid ideas to make money on the internet. Take a look and see which of them you find the most interesting.

Start an Ecommerce Store

Shopping on the internet is convenient because you do not have to deal with queues, not to mention the pushy staff that wants to force you into buying something. In addition, products purchased online are delivered to your doorstep.

You might be thinking that an online store requires a lot of investment that goes into logistics and manufacturing. These things are not an obstacle because you can go with the option of running an online business with no inventory.

Find a reliable supplier, select a niche, build a website, promote it to attract relevant traffic, and see the sales happen.

Build Websites

As more and more people are going to be spending time on the internet, you can bet that the need for website builders will grow as well. On the surface, it might seem like creating a site is not that hard, but it requires particular skills.

Besides, it is not always the initial phase of launching a site that causes problems, but rather its maintenance, particularly when talking about cybersecurity threats.

It is also worth noting that different individuals or businesses will have different needs for their site, which poses the challenge of choosing the right content management system. For example, what works on WordPress does not necessarily work on Magento, and vice-versa.

Understanding the intricacies of a CMS and knowing how to make the most out of it is a valuable asset that professional website developers need.

Manage Social Media Profiles

Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram have hundreds of millions of active users, and the whole social media ecosystem is not revolving just around these two sites.

The bottom line is that you have many people relying on social media. Becoming someone who is well-versed in coming up with content ideas and increasing engagement rates is a skill that many would find valuable.

Some social media managers also manage to turn their experience into an entire agency that runs multiple high-profile accounts (think about celebrities, professional athletes, and so on).

The ceiling for social media is difficult to determine, but there is no denying that it has a lot of potential despite being around for so many years already.

Create Custom Merchandise

Cool-looking t-shirts, caps, and other custom-made merchandise is another potential business idea worth a shout. Your very own clothing line would require time and patience because it is a pretty competitive niche.

Nevertheless, the need for clothes is not disappearing. If anything, recent trends indicate that the demand for colorful clothes that make you stand out from others is on the rise.

This particular business idea might require a joint-venture approach, however. Creating designs and being in charge of marketing and distribution could be too much to handle on your own.

Thus, do not hesitate to look for a partner or two to increase the chances of making it in the custom merchandise industry.

Write and Publish E-Books

Self-publishing on Amazon and other less popular platforms is more optimal for writers who do not wish to deal with traditional publishing agencies and agents. Of course, it also means that you will have to work harder on promoting the book because even if you are great at writing, there are hardly any guarantees that potential readers will discover your book.

You can collaborate with social media influencers and bloggers, for instance, to ask them to promote the e-book.

Having said all that, the ultimate focal point for an e-book is to ensure that you write a compelling story or provide valuable information for readers. Also, while not seemingly important, a cover for e-books plays a prominent role as well, so make sure to hire a professional designer for it.

Offer SEO Consultancy

The ins and outs of search engine optimization are difficult to crack even after spending months on the basics. The deeper you try to delve, the more intricate the whole thing becomes. It also does not help that SEO trends change regularly, and failing to keep up with the latest industry news often leads to poorer results and losses in money and clients.

Despite these tribulations, search engine optimization consultants and professionals, in general, can expect to create a source of income for many years.

If there is one method that is worth investing in when talking about long-term opportunities, SEO is, without a doubt, one of the top suggestions.

Expect a slow start, but when you get some work done and teach yourself the basics, try to find potential employers on ad sites or create your own project that you can treat as both means to improve and make additional income.

Stream on Twitch TV

Even though Twitch TV is not that popular in Africa, it is one of those growing markets. For instance, you have someone like SpyroZA, a South African, who is streaming Gwent and found a relatively decent success on the platform despite his preferred game not being that popular.

Twitch TV viewer demographics come from around different regions of the world. Though the majority of it is, of course, Europe and the Americas. Whether Twitch TV can become as popular in Africa is still too early to tell, but it is one of the markets that has a vast amount of potential.

Becoming one of the early streamers and growing your audience means that you can get ahead of the competition, especially if you stick to a regular schedule and provide entertaining content.

While the majority of Twitch TV channels are focused on gaming, you are not forced to do that if you prefer a different type of content.

If nothing else, you should try your luck on Twitch TV and see whether it is an idea worth pursuing. In case you find success on the platform, you can grow your channel and monetize it via donations, subscriptions, and sponsorship deals.

Edit Videos

Video content is more efficient in marketing because the average attention span of a human has decreased a lot. It is easier to digest a video or an image than it is to digest a wall of text.

Of course, videos do not have to be used just for marketing purposes. You can start your own YouTube channel. With enough subscribers and video views, monetizing a YouTube channel should not be too problematic, thanks to ad networks, affiliate links, sponsorship deals, and so on.

Targeting an international audience might make more sense because you are more likely to grow and make additional income this way.

In case you do not wish to create videos from scratch yourself, focus on mastering the art of video editing and providing service to those who need a dedicated editor for their YouTube channel or social media profiles, to name a few examples.

Become a Virtual Assistant

Sometimes, starting with the very basics is a good approach. There is hardly a simpler hustle than a virtual assistant when talking about the opportunities to make money on the internet.

Sure, virtual assistants vary in terms of what they do. Some are in charge of simple things, like collecting information and filling in spreadsheets, whereas others are working on more advanced research or even cold outreach.

The duties depend on your skills, so the more you know, the more different opportunities there are. However, for a beginner, it is recommended to pick work that is not too demanding.

Check out the local forums for job ads or sites like Fiverr and Upwork and offer your services there. These platforms have a high demand for virtual assistants as not everyone manages to finish their work on time and look for a pair of helping hands.

Monetize a Blog

Writing a blog is the last method in this article. Do not fret even if you do not have a knack for writing. It is one of those skills that you can learn with time, and the more you write, the better you should become.

Pick a niche that you are knowledgeable about or interested in so that you do not feel forced to produce content you find boring.

You could, for instance, write about interesting locations to visit in Africa, and that could turn into proper excursions with guides. From there, look to collaborate with translation agencies that would provide guides as one way to monetize the site. Advertising other services and collaborating is effective.

Another way to monetize a blog is to run ads or ad affiliate links. However, do not clutter the site with those because such links and ads devalue the blog and discourage readers from staying on the site.

Finally, you can look to work with other bloggers and publish their articles for a fee. Not only will it help you make money, but you will also have fewer worries about content ideas.