From Uber driving and POS businesses to online tutoring and home-based catering, households are building new income streams to bridge the widening gap between wages and living costs.
The family that turned school fees into capital
“I turned my children’s school fees into business capital.” Few financial decisions are more difficult for Nigerian parents than moving their children from private schools to public schools. For Usman Bello and his wife, it became a business decision.
Usman, a 44-year-old federal civil servant in Abuja, earns N260,000 a month after deductions. Two years ago, his wife left her hotel job after childcare costs consumed most of her earnings. The family needed another source of income but lacked the capital to start one. The solution came from an uncomfortable sacrifice.
In 2024, they transferred their two children from private schools to public schools, saving approximately N160,000 per term. The money was used to purchase catering equipment and build inventory for a home-based food business. Today, Bello’s wife caters for office events, birthdays and naming ceremonies across the Lugbe and Gwagwa axis of Abuja.
