I remember my NYSC service year in Benue state. It was hot and humid and finding a reasonable accommodation was hard. The few available corper’s lodges were always full. Many NYSC corpers have very similar stories spread across all the states in Nigeria.
Where there is a wide spread problem, there you will find a profitable venture.
The cost of investment for this business idea is quite high, so if you have a chunk of money and you are looking for where to invest to to receive passive income every year indefinitely. Then this is the idea for you.
The beauty of this business is that you can start anywhere since corpers are sent to all states of Nigeria. So, you can set- up where ever you are.
How to start
Market research
There may be corpers in every state and local government but there will always be an area of every state that has less accommodations available for these corpers.
So, find a youth corper and ask them about their struggles in the city with accommodations and also what areas have less housing for corpers.
With this information you can begin to scout of land or an existing building that can be converted for this purpose.
Land and Building
Depending on the location, you might want to keep the design for the structure very simple, as this a temporary living situation and most corpers might not be able to afford very expensive accommodation.
The goal is to provide basic amenities such as a clean water, clean environment, a proper building/structure (a lot of corper end up living in thatch houses), A fence for security (if possible).
I remember the first location I was posted to, the house that I was able to rent had no ceiling so birds and bats use to fly around in the room at night. Eventually, we had to use sewn together cement bags to create a ceiling.
So, the standard is already very low. So, in most rural locations you have to just provide basic living conditions.
With a budget of N5,000,000 or less you should be able to build a simple 8-bedroom hostel for corpers.
Marketing
You may opt to hire an agent to manage the property if you do not live in the area, but if you plan to manage it yourself, you should go to your local government office and find out when the NYSC CDS day is and visit on that day.
On the NYSC CDS day where new corpers have resumed you can share flyers for your lodge or speak to a few of them about your accommodation and you will get many interests.
Design Ideas
You can have shared toilets and kitchen to reduce the cost of construction.
You can also add a mini kitchenette in the rooms for added value.
This idea is on the expensive side but it is a great passive income source. It requires little or no day-to-day involvement, so if you have a good sum of money that you would like to invest in a long-term source of income, this is a good idea for you.
