Everything on how to start mobile data reselling business in Nigeria 2023 (The methods and alternatives)

In this blog post, you'll learn all the methods, ways and alternatives through which you can start your very own mobile data reselling business in Nigeria with little or no capital while outlining the benefits and shortcomings of each of the methods discussed.

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Mobile data selling or reselling business is one of the most profitable and often underated business you can do and make steady income. Because mobile data resellers are able to get mobile data in bulk from network providers at 50% discount or more when compared with the price of regular data plans available to customers on the network, they're able to make at least 50% or more profit depending on the price they sell the data to their customers.

Millions of internet users buy mobile data subscription daily in Nigeria. Out of these millions of subscribers, a good percentage of them buy mobile data subscription at a very expensive rate, with no discount, directly from their mobile network operators or banks. This is to tell you the volume of market available in this business. You too can also penetrate a good part of this market and earn additional income for yourself. You can imagine the profit you would make daily if you are able to penetrate into a good portion of the market?

Tip

Are you a data seller looking for more customers to sell data to? Click here to join this data buying and selling group now to start buying and selling data.

How to advertise your mobile data business?

Markets of mobile data are present almost everywhere. You can sell mobile data offlines to families, friends, neighbours, schools, hotels, cyber cafe, circles, churches, and workplaces.

You can also sell mobile data online in Nigeria on social media like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and forums like nairaland.

You can get customers from virtually anywhere and everywhere as almost everyone uses the internet on daily basis.

Click here to join WhatsApp group for data sellers to buy and sell data, airtime, CableTV subscription, and other related products and services at mouth watering offers!

1. Advertise mobile data online on social media

Social media friends and followers from website such as Facebook, Instagram, twitters and others are some of the readily available markets to sell mobile data online and get customers. Can you imagine the amounts of money you can make, if you have so many of these followers, by converting them to your customers? And this is very easy, especially when you are offering them cheaper prices for their mobile data subscription. Who doesn't like cheap things? Even billionaires will go for best price in their buying decisions.

Join relevant groups on Facebook and WhatsApp to promote your data business. Are you a data seller looking to join a dedicated WhatsApp group for data seller where you can find data resellers and buyers to sell data to? Click here to join a WhatsApp group now.

2. Advertise mobile data to companies and businesses that use mobile data

Companies and businesses do buy mobile data subscription for their staffs to work online either remotely or within the work premises. This mobile data subscription budget value can worth over hundreds of thousands of Naira monthly. You can approach these businesses and promise them you can deliver mobile data subscription to their staffs at discounted prices and they would love to give you the contract as it will also reduce their spending on internet subscription. It's possible for you to get several of these contracts from different companies on a daily basis.

3. Advertise mobile data to your existing customers in other businesses 

You can as well market mobile data subscription service to your already existing customers in other businesses, and that's a bonus profit to the profit you earn from your main business while selling cheap mobile data subscription plans as a side hustle or business. Isn't that great?

4. Target high volume mobile data consumers like gamers, online freelancers and remote workers

High mobile data consumers like gamers and people who work remotely online are your biggest customers. These are heavy mobile data consumers whose data usage runs in 100s of gigabyte monthly. Target these type of people by promising them good discount. Most of these people would appreciate mobile data subscription plans that are cheaper compared to their current data plans.

Factors to be considered before starting SME data reselling business in Nigeria

Having known the different market opportunities available in this business, there are some factors you need to consider in making the right decision on which method is best for you to get started with.

The following are the major factors that you should consider before venturing into mobile data reselling business in Nigeria:

1. Market availability:

Before starting data reselling business in Nigeria, you need to consider who will buy your data subscription. Do you have an established customers who are ready and willing to patronise you? This factor is very crucial in ensuring that you are able to share your data completely before it expires. If you are just starting and you do not have enough customers to market your business to, it's advisable you make use of a wholesale mobile data reseller who you can always pay to deliver data to your customers.

2. Capital:

Do you possess enough capital to buy bulk airtime and data for each of the major networks we have in Nigeria? Buying the least MTN SME data plan alone requires a minimum of ₦10K. If your answer to this question is no, then you should start data reselling through a wholesale mobile data reseller.

3. Availablity of each network SIM:

To start sharing and reselling mobile data for each network, you need to consider the availability of these networks' SIMs and the phones to power them with. If you do not have adequate access to these SIMs and the networks itself, it would be advisable you start reselling through a wholesale data reseller.

4. Risks:

The risks involved in running a data reselling business in Nigeria depends on the chosen methods. Some of the risks include: data expiring before you sell the data finish, inability to share MTN SME data on your SIM because of MTN SME data share limit reached, unavailability of your data supplier to deliver data when you have customer that needs data urgently, data delivering more than once because of network issues, delays and errors associated with using websites and so many others not mentioned. Prospective data resellers should be aware of these risks and employ solutions to managing them. If you don't understand the business and the strategies involved in mitigating these risks, you are better off starting through a wholesale mobile data reseller.

5. Network availablity in your area:

Is there any good network coverage in your area for the network you intend reselling. If the network of the telecom company you plan reselling its mobile data or internet subscription is poor in your area, you may end up disappointing customers, risk encountering sharing errors and loss of data due to network errors.

See also: how to convert airtime to cash easily in Nigeria at the best rate

6. Availability of internet access:

You need constant access to the internet so as to enable smooth communication and maintenance of good relationship with your data supplier through online messaging app like WhatsApp if you are reselling data through a wholesale data reseller. You need internet access too if you plan reselling through a website or app.

7. Accessibility to (internet or mobile) banking services:

Before you start reselling mobile data through a wholesale data reseller, you need to consider how you are going to pay him to deliver data to your customers. Easy and quick access to 24/7 banking services will make it possible to pay your data supplier at anytime without the need for physical contact.

Who's a mobile data reseller?

A mobile data reseller in Nigeria is one whose business involves buying of telecommunication network provider's mobile data in bulk for later reselling to customers (end users) or another data reseller (a retail data reseller) who acts as a middle man between a supplier (a wholesale data reseller) and the end users. In this definition, you can see we have two major types of mobile data resellers in Nigeria, viz. Wholesale data reseller and retail data reseller.

Check now: How to convert gift cards to cash in Nigeria

What is SME Data Reselling Business in Nigeria?

The word SME is an acronym for small and medium-sized enterprises. SME data plans are provided by network providers in Nigeria to, originally, assist small and medium-sized enterprises or businesses to buy affordable internet subscription plans at discounted prices and enable them share these data subscription plans with their staffs.

These SME data subscription plans provided by network operators such as MTN, 9mobile and Glo have since opened an entirely new business opportunity for smart Nigerians who saw it as a great opportunity to make money in Nigeria by reselling these cheap internet subscription plans.

Data reselling business in Nigeria involves the sales and reselling of mobile data plans through purchase of telecommunication network SME data bundles in bulk. These bulk mobile data plans purchased directly from the network at low cost are then shared with end users (customers).

There are different ways of starting or setting up your own SME data reselling business in Nigeria.

You can become a wholesale mobile data vendor who buys SME data plans directly from network operators at low cost.

Wholesale mobile data resellers require high capital investment to buy bulk mobile data large enough to reduce cost.

Or resell mobile data through a wholesale mobile data reseller with zero capital investment. Mobile data resellers can start up with as little as the cost of purchasing a unit mobile data plan as low as 1gb since all he needs to do is collect payment from customers and use part of the payment, keeping the remaining as profit, to buy mobile data from a wholesaler directly for his customers. All they need is redirecting each and every requests from their customers to a wholesale mobile data reseller who then delivers the order on their behalf. Thus, a mobile data retailer is like a middle man in the business.

Now, we know what a wholesale mobile data reseller and a mobile data retailer is, the question that comes to the mind is how do a retailer find a wholesaler that offers mobile data at cheap prices?

This is where platforms comes in. The platform is a setup or enabling environment which can be used by retailers to resell wholesaler(s) products or services. This can be in form of a market, WhatsApp group or websites provided for this purpose.

Click here to learn how to recharge electricity, cable TV, internet subscription, bill payment and more in Nigeria at discounted rates

Methods and alternative ways to start SME data reselling business in Nigeria 

1. Reselling SME mobile data by buying SME data directly from network operators

This method is the oldest and conventional way of reselling SME mobile data. I call this method 'The do it yourself method of data reselling.' The mobile data reseller subscribe to corresponding network SME mobile data plans which are far cheaper when compared with the normal subscription plans offered by the network, and then shares the mobile data from his line to his customers for profits. As the reseller has to buy SME mobile data in bulk to his line, buying mobile data directly from network operators is usually capital intensive as you need more capital to start (₦10K minimum).

The more the volume of SME data purchased, the lower the unit cost of the mobile data. Wholesale data reseller uses this method with bulk purchases running in millions of Naira.

Click to learn more on how to start SME data reselling business by sharing data to customers manually from your own SIM.

Buying cheap airtime in bulk

Mobile data resellers in Nigeria use airtime in their SIMs to subscribe mobile data to resell to customers. In order to reduce the cost of running the business which consumes lots of bulk airtime daily and offer mobile data to customers at cheaper prices, data resellers usually buy cheap airtime in bulk, thus enabling them offer cheaper mobile data to customers. Click to learn more on how you can buy cheap airtime in bulk in Nigeria

2. Resell mobile data through a WhatsApp group

Screenshot showing adverts from data and airtime vendors in the WhatsApp group

Are you tired of the poor services you get everyday from reselling mobile data through a website? Now, worry not as you can now meet and negotiate with mobile data resellers who offer great discounts on mobile data prices, take advantage of competition between mobile data sellers to get yet lower mobile data prices to resell from.

WhatsApp group where buyers and sellers meet to transact with one another acts as ready marketplace for mobile data vendors and businesses in Nigeria to buy and sell mobile data online.

Buyers and sellers have opportunity to benefit from increased competition by buying and selling mobile data/internet subscription online at competitive rates.

While all the members in the group are vetted and verified, there's also opportunity to use a trusted third-party as an escrow to secure your transactions.

Click here to join a newly created WhatsApp group for buying and selling airtime and data!

This method of mobile data reselling in Nigeria is well suited for mobile data resellers who regularly buy and sell mobile data/internet subscription online in Nigeria as a business. So, if you are just starting the business or just buying mobile data for personal use, it's recommended you buy directly from a whole sale mobile data reseller.

Click here to read more on how to start mobile data reselling business in Nigeria using WhatsApp group.

Advantage over mobile data reselling websites

1. Opportunity to relate directly with your mobile data vendor. Get to order mobile data directly from a vendor who delivers mobile data manually and efficiently instead of ordering directly from website which can be slow and unreliable.
2. Opportunity to get lower price as a result of increased competition between mobile data resellers in the group.
3. Resell mobile data and make profit on the go. You don't have to start big. Simply, send your customer's number to your preferred mobile data vendor and make profit per each sale you make.
4. No registration needed.
5. Opportunity to use escrow service for secure transaction.
6. Enjoy the error free features of getting mobile data delivered manually to you as opposed to automation which is not 100% efficient.
7. Opportunity to choose among many mobile data resellers online and get your order delivered in time. Get instant response from a group of standby mobile data resellers who are always online and ready to receive mobile data orders from customers instead of waiting for unreliable website to deliver your mobile data order. No delaying of mobile data order common with websites when there's high traffic. Traffic is equally shared and distributed among online resellers as resellers with fewer or no requests simply attend to your request.

3. Start mobile data reselling business by reselling through a wholesale mobile data reseller (most recommended)

This is the best method for you if you are really tired of disappointing of your customers as a result of mobile data reselling websites unreliable services. If you really want to be sure that that mobile data subscription transaction is actually successful without any doubt or dispute then you either need to be in control of it or have someone do it for you manually!

How it works 

This is a simple solution to starting data reselling business and making extra profit for yourself. I provide data at cheap prices which you can take advantage of and resell to others cheaply as well and still make profits. What you need to do is simply send your customer's request for data and let me complete them on your behalf. Very easy, you make money without having to bother yourself about the technicalities of the business. Follow the steps below to get started:

1. Simply source for customers by marketing yourself as a cheap data reseller. Depending on what you like, you can add a profit of N100 or more to the price you are getting from me.
2. Send your customer's number stating the network and the mobile data plan they need and request for the bank details to send payment to.
3. Send payment to the bank account provided and notify with payment receipt.
4. Wait for your mobile data subscription order to be processed. Within minutes, once your payment is confirmed, mobile data will be delivered to the mobile number provided.
5. Easily, you make money reselling mobile data without having to manage mobile data in your mobile phone by acting as a middle man reselling mobile data subscription through me with zero capital investment as all the capital required is just a payment from your customer which you, then, use to source the mobile data subscription for them!

Sounds good? Click here to connect with a whole sale mobile data reseller and start reselling mobile data immediately

Why reselling mobile data through me instead of direct sales from network operators or through websites?

Mobile data reselling business is a business in which individuals or business companies buy mobile data in large scale directly from mobile network operators like; Glo, MTN, 9mobile or Etisalat and Airtel, and then resell those mobile data to end users in smaller quantity, making profits from each sales. Starting mobile data reselling business by yourself alone requires at least ₦10,000 capital investment as the lowest MTN SME package alone cost ₦10,000 which is expensive when compared to other bigger packages. You can start data reselling business by just reselling data through other wholesale data resellers that sell data at cheaper prices with zero capital investment.

By reselling data through me, there has been the elimination of the need to have high enough capital to buy the mobile data in bulk in order to resell in smaller quantities. In fact, you start making profit with zero capital investment. All you need to start making profit is an order for mobile data as low as 1gb data from your customer and using part of the payment received (which is literally your capital), keeping the remaining as profit, to pay me!

Get data delivered to your customers in minutes! Avoid delay in funding your wallet with website, delay in data delivery, and other unforseen circumstances. You avoid encountering problems and errors relating to websites by having me manually and efficiently deliver mobile data to your customers at the same cost to vending mobile data from a website.

Enjoy the flexibility of having someone do the job for you. If you used a website and your mobile data transaction hanged, your funds would be tied down with the website and you do not know if it will become successful later or not. You would be left stranded, meaning you would be giving your customer a bad experience (I'm sure you don't want that to happen). On the other hand if you are in control of the transaction yourself or have someone who's in control of it do it on your behalf, you can easily make decisions and take action based on the feedback you get from network or the wholesale data reseller. With this method, you have more control over the situation as you can easily decide to stop or cancel a transaction that's yet to be processed and give order like a boss that you are 😉

Reselling mobile data through me is hassle free as you can easily resolve issues by contacting me directly unlike when you are transacting on a website.

Get special discounts and offers specifically designed for my customers. You have opportunity to get upgraded prices and many more special bonanzas from me.

Make payment using methods as easy as bank transfer or cash deposit. This is quite different from websites that might require funding your wallet through card payment which involves entering sensitive ATM card information on the unsecure website or transferring money to bank accounts with delay in funding your wallet!

No need for registration! Using websites require supplying your details such as BVN, email address and other personal data into them in order to register, no need for all that if you are reselling data through me.

I'm honest and legitimate. That's should be enough reason to patronise me. We all know there are a lot of scammers out there and reason why we are often afraid of patronising online businesses. I have built a reputation as an honest online business individual with my transaction history attached to this article to prove myself.

No such thing as registration fee and unnecessary charges. Some data reselling website might demand for registration fees as high as ₦1000 or more as part of a referral scheme where your money is used to pay your referrer. This fee is different from your payment for transacting on the website. Funding your wallet on these sites can also come with fees associated with the payment options you are using.

Enjoy the most reliable mobile data subscription service you can ever get with the ease and convenience of having a real human deliver your order for you. When it comes to reliability of service and quality service delivery with touch of professionalism that can never be gotten anywhere, then you need look further no more.

Some screenshots of my transactions with my resellers on WhatsApp

There are lot more screenshots to prove my legitimacy for some doubting Thomases, but I wouldn't want to stuff the page with too much boring transaction screenshots. If you are serious this should be enough to convince you that I'm legitimate. However, if you are not serious or do not believe me, do not contact me. It's as simple as that.

Sounds good? Click here to connect with a whole sale mobile data reseller and start reselling mobile data immediately

4. Reselling mobile data through a website or app (not reliable)

This involves buying mobile data for your customers online through a website or app.

These data reselling websites or apps are owned by individuals or companies that offer mobile data at wholesale rate.

These websites or apps are programmed to automate mobile data sharing process any time a user buys mobile data on the website. Mobile data purchase requests are then sent in a queue to the devices or servers that automatically share these mobile data to the numbers. Due to the nature of how websites and apps handle these processes, users of these websites or apps are bound to experience delay or errors during service down time, poor networks or high traffic requests.

See how to buy and sell bitcoin easily in Nigeria

All you need is fund a virtual wallet  provided by the website and start buying mobile data. You can either buy mobile data for yourself or subscribe for others, adding your own profit to the cost of mobile data and profiting from each sale of mobile data to your customers.

How to start data reselling business in Nigeria through a web platform

To start mobile data reselling business in Nigeria using a web platform, here is the outline of the steps to follow:

1. Find a reliable SME mobile data reselling website and register with them (I don't know of any reliable website you can resell mobile data from, so don't ask me about any website or app).
2. Navigate through the website menu and find link to purchase or buy data.
3. Click on the 'buy data' link.
4. Select your network.
5. Choose the data plan you want and type your number.
6. Click buy data. Note you'll be required to fund your wallet before you can use any of the services. Once you buy data, within minutes you will receive the data in your phone.

Shortcomings of mobile data reselling through web platforms

With no direct API support to aid automation processes by the network providers, SME data reselling website owners have resorted to some unconventional solutions which automate the exact manual process of sharing SME data subscription from SIMs whose efficiency depends on several factors such as: the capability of devices or server being used, the robustness of the automation programs, network stability and several others. 

This is not to mention situations where there's network downtime or instability from service providers themselves which might compound the existing problem with automation processes, making the process even less reliable than doing it yourself manually! 

The automation process involves delivering SME data subscription requests in queue through certain channels or media to servers or devices that power the automation programs. Due to the nature of this process, it might interest you that the delivery is not as instant as it should be. 

And did I also forget to let you know that some of these SME data reselling websites are not fully automated? In fact, majority of these SME data reselling websites still have to rely on or resort to manual process for some transactions or when automation fails.

Below are some of the shortcomings of data reselling websites:

1. It can be very unreliable and slow. SME data reselling websites that are not efficient may take long in delivering orders created by users and in occasions where the server is handling too much mobile data requests from users as a result of traffic higher than its capability, there's often delay in delivering orders which can result in disappointment. Also, there is often service down time during routine website maintenance. When this happens, the user may be stranded and need to find alternatives.
2. Registration might involves identity verification, request for BVN and unconscious agreement to terms putting personal information at risk.
3. Errors may occur from improperly or poorly programmed SME data reselling webites. Users faced with errors may have to deal with supports who are mostly horrible and unresponsive.
4. Bad customer service. Trust me you don't want to deal with these websites customer service. It's horrible especially when your money is being tied down on the website.

Note: Due to the common problems and issues peculiar with data reselling through websites, I do not recommend people to use this method. If you are , however, serious and interested in starting your own data reselling business, check other methods such as buying mobile data directly from network providers, or reselling data through a wholesale data reseller that offers mobile data at wholesale prices.

You can also join dedicated airtime and data selling group to connect with wholesale data resellers and get competitive data price. Click here to join a newly created WhatsApp group for buying and selling airtime and data.

How to create a data reselling website

A data reselling website is similar to other merchants websites available on the web. Telecommunications products or services like airtime and data are the main products and services you'll find on a typical data reselling website.

In addition to telecommunications products and services, a typical data reselling website offers finance related services like digital wallets, account funding, transfer and withdrawal, as well as bill payment services such as electricity payment, CableTV subscription payment and other utility payments.

Here are some steps you need to take in order to create a data reselling website in Nigeria:

1. Know the products and services you want to offer. First, you need to carefully plan the products and services that will be made available on your website and the availability of supplier for these products and services.
2. Choose a domain name. Select a memorable and relevant domain name for your data reselling website. Consider using a domain registrar service to register your chosen domain.
3. Choose a web hosting provider. Find a reliable web hosting provider that meets your data reselling website's requirements. Consider factors such as uptime, security, customer support, and pricing.
4. Select a SIM host provider. Find a reliable way to host your SIMs to automate your airtime and data reselling transactions.
5. Find products or services and API suppliers for your data reselling website. Find reliable suppliers for your website products and services. Find suppliers for airtime, data, CableTV subscription, VTU, payment gateway and other services you'll be offering on your website. You can either buy airtime or data directly to your SIMs from vendors at wholesale prices and automate transactions directly from your SIMs or use API solutions offered by other websites to resell their products and services. When you use API, you're reselling other websites products and services and may be more expensive than buying products and services directly from the original service providers or agents.
6. Design your data reselling website. Decide on the design and layout of your data reselling website. You can hire a web designer or use website builders and content management systems (CMS) like WordPress, Shopify, or WooCommerce, which offer ready-made templates and customization options.
7. Create product pages. Set up individual product pages with detailed descriptions, pricing, and high-quality images. Organize your products into categories for easy navigation.
8. Set up a payment gateway. Select a secure and reliable payment gateway to handle transactions, such as monify, flutterwave, or other popular options.
9. Implement security measures. Ensure your data reselling website has an SSL certificate to encrypt sensitive customer data and secure online transactions. Implement security plugins or measures to protect against cyber threats.
10. Optimize for search engines. Apply search engine optimization (SEO) techniques to improve your data reselling website's visibility in search engine results. Use relevant keywords, optimize page titles and descriptions, and create unique, high-quality content.
11. Set up analytics and tracking. Install website analytics tools like Google Analytics to track visitor behavior, monitor website performance, and gain insights to improve your online business.
12. Test and launch. Test your website thoroughly to ensure all features and functionality work correctly. Check for any usability issues, broken links, or errors. Once you are satisfied, launch your data reselling website and make it live.
13. Promote your website. Implement online marketing strategies to drive traffic to your data reselling website. Utilize social media, content marketing, email marketing, paid advertising, and other channels to reach your target audience and promote your products.
14. Provide customer support. Set up channels for customer support, such as live chat, email, or phone, to address customer inquiries, provide assistance, and build trust.

Creating a data reselling website in Nigeria is easy once you have enough capital and resources to build your website. If you don't know how to design or develop a website, you can employ the service of a website developer or programmer to help you build your data reselling website. It's important to take security measures to protect your data reselling website from hackers and avoid financial loss by only employing proficient programmers and website developers for your data reselling website. Also, use reliable hosts and services to ensure your website transactions and shopping experience is smooth with fast service delivery.