8 Best Business Ideas to Start in Douala with Low Investment

Are you looking for the best business ideas to start in Douala with little investment?

Douala is the economic capital as well as a major business center in Cameroon. The town provides the best business terrain in Cameroon with necessary infrastructure to support small businesses – telecommunication, media, banking, hotels, telecommunication, etc.

With a growing population of almost 4 million people, there are a lot of opportunities for small businesses to benefit from, especially the ever-growing domestic market.

As the largest business hub in Cameroon, Douala has extensive little investment small business opportunities for those who want to take the entrepreneurial journey as well as those who are looking for a side hustle.

I will share with you a list of some of the best business ideas to start in Douala with small investment. Please, make sure you read to the end. The last part of this post is very important.

8 Easy Business Ideas to Start in Douala

1. B2B Online Store

Home Based: Can be operated from home

Part-Time: Can be operated part-time

Online Marketing? Yes

This to me is one of the best business idea to start in Douala especially with the COVID-19 pandemic which is still hovering around. The pandemic has changed business patterns all over the world with an increase in online supply and demand.

Below are some B2B online business ideas to start in Douala. It will provide you with a great head-start on your successful e-Commerce store.

– B2B office supplies online store

– B2B medical supply store

– B2B online store for jewellery

– B2B online grocery store

– B2B electronics store

– B2B fashion, apparel & accessories wholesale online shop

You don’t need to keep stock when it comes to a B2B Online store, hence very little investment. One good thing is that you can do this business all over the world.

To engage in this, you need a mobile friendly e-Commerce website. Why mobile-friendly? Because majority (over 61%) of the searches online are done using mobile phones.

You also need to ensure your partners need to update you with real-time inventory in order not to fail your customers. Make sure you provide detailed product information as well as track orders from your customers.

Also provide live customer support, quotation request and a flexible checkout. Hubspot CRM is a perfect software for inbound marketing , customer service and sales which you can use to manage sales, marketing and customer service.

You can check for more for B2B online business ideas or get in touch with us in case you need more information on how to start a B2B online store.

2. Graphic Design Business

Home Based: Can be operated from home

Part-Time: Can be operated part-time

Online Marketing? Yes

One good thing about this business idea is that you can be fully employed or use it to earn an extra income. The demand for graphic designers in Douala and Cameroon as a whole has seen an upsurge.

The few who are into graphic design are overwhelmed with orders, especially with the continuous increase demand for online graphics.

What do graphic designers do? They create posters, logos, brochures, signs, newsletters and other forms of visual communication.

A great business idea to start in Douala where the demand for corporate identity or branding, web design, print production and advertising are increasing on a daily basis.

One good thing about this business is that you can work full-time for yourself or use it to earn an extra income.

To start a graphic design business, you will need to have skills in IT and drawing. You can learn it through self-study or get training from a private trainer provider. The main tool you will need is a computer with a desktop graphic design software like QuarkXpress, Photoshop, InDesign, Inkscape, etc.

To reduce your budget on graphic design softwares, checkout these Top 8 Free Open Source Tools For Graphic Designers. Note that this business can be operated in the comfort of your home.

3. Website Designing

Home Based: Can be operated from home

Part-Time: Can be operated part-time

Online Marketing? Yes

With the level of online presence and marketing increasing daily, almost all businesses want to be present online. Businesses are created on almost a daily basis in Douala and many of them would want their businesses to get exposure online.

This can be achieved by making their presence felt on the web. One of the reasons this has made it in my list of best business ideas to start in Douala is because you can do it part-time/full-time and on a minimal budget.

Just like graphic design, it can also be operated from the comfort of your room. However, networking is also very important in such a business.

A little knowledge in graphic design is also a plus. Your clients are businesses, non-profit organizations, professional associations as well as government agencies.

4. Food Catering Business

Home Based: Can be operated from home

Part-Time: Can be operated part-time

Online Marketing? Yes

Douala is a business hub with thousands of workers. Many of these workers don’t have time to cook since they leave home early and come back late at night. The best option for them is to buy food from restaurants.

Why did this make it in my list of best business ideas to start in Douala?

Some workers in the above category will prefer to get their food delivered to them at home or at work. In this case, you can start a food delivery business with very little capital. You don’t need to have a restaurant.

You may not require any formal qualification to get started with a food delivery business. You can cook from home and deliver to their preferred place.

In this business, your presence online will be very necessary. Design graphics that you can share online on social media platforms.

You can also print out business cards and move from one office to the other and propose your services.

You can provide a whole week’s menu for your customers to choose and place their orders. This will help you prepare the required quantity as per their order to avoid waste.

You can also add natural fruit juice in your package. Partnership brings growth, hence you can partner with someone who does natural fruit juice in order to come out with a complete package.

Starting a food delivery business in Douala will be profitable if properly planned. Marketing and customer service is very important with such a business. If you are interested in this business, and want to know more, we are available to guide you on how to go about it.

5. Mobile Beauty Parlour

Home Based: Can be operated from home

Part-Time: Can be operated part-time

Online Marketing? Yes

With the coronovirus pandemic, those in the beauty industry had to find new ways to adapt. However, most of them have gone back to their business places since the government uplifted the ban last year.

If you are a hairdresser, beautician, barber, makeup artist or someone looking for business ideas to start in Douala, then this may be one. With the right skill, and little capital, you can start a mobile beauty salon.

With this business, you need to have just the basic accessories and equipment that will enable you offer home services. Easy and less costly right? Reason it has made it in my list of best business ideas you can start with little capital in Douala.

You don’t need to have a traditional physical shop. You can operate in different locations by moving from one client’s home.

In this era where many clients demand more flexibility, running a mobile hair salon can be a great way to add to your existing beauty business or by launching a completely new one.

6. Cleaning Services

Home Based: Can be operated from home

Part-Time: Can be operated part-time

Online Marketing? Yes

A cleaning service business will thrive very well in a town like Douala. You can offer home and office cleaning, car wash, laundry as well as dry cleaning services.

With an effective and innovative marketing technique, you can make a good profit from a cleaning business in Douala.

Some cleaning business ideas include:

– House cleaning

– Laundry & dry cleaning

– Window cleaning

– Pool cleaning

– Car cleaning

– Carpet cleaning

– Waste disposal

For this business to be very successful, you need to specialize in at least one or two cleaning services. To guarantee success, you need to offer the best quality services.

7. Baking on Order

Home Based: Can be operated from home

Part-Time: Can be operated part-time

Online Marketing? Yes

There is a huge customer base in Douala for those who love baked goods. If you love baking, then the opportunities are many for you to build a baking business in Douala.

Good thing is, this business can be done from home and marketed online. You can even negotiate with a bake shop where your products could be sold and they get their commission.

If you’re a professional baker or pastry chef, you can offer freelance services to personal clients or work for restaurants, bakeries or even partner with an event management or catering business.

A great bakery niche you can specialize on is wedding and/or birthday. Birthday and wedding cakes are always in high demand. This will make a profitable niche for those who have baking skills.

What about opening a cake shop online?

In this case, you don’t even need to have baking skills, but sell baked goods. You negotiate with bakers and get your commission on each sale you make. You can also sell items for birthdays, weddings and other occasions as well.

8. Handyman Services

Home Based: Can be operated from home

Part-Time: Can be operated part-time

Online Marketing? Yes

This is one of the best business ideas to start in Douala, especially for those who are from technical schools. A handyman fixes a wide range of problems in people’s homes.

A do-it-all handyman will offer services like plumbing, electrical services, lawn mowing, leaky roof repair, cracks on the wall, door or kitchen cabinet off its hinges, home remodeling, painting, etc.

This business can be full-time as well as part-time. You can market the business through social media or even print out business cards which you can share around your neighborhood.

Once it starts to grow, you can hire some more hands to help you carry out jobs in order to satisfy your clients. We can help you make this business very professional.

Hope you’ve got an idea on what you can start as a full-time or part-time business! I will be updating this list of best business ideas to start in Douala from time-to-time, so you can checkout for more.

Meanwhile as I promised above, this is the most important part of starting a business. I know you may not have the necessary funds, but this is very important.

I know many people run businesses without it being legal. Some are running away from taxes, some out of ignorance.

You may not know the implications of running an illegal business. It’s not only about being caught one day by the tax official. That’s just a small problem.

What many do not know is that running a non-registered business is highly disastrous to business growth.

Except you want your business to remain small all its life (not even mentioning that it may be totally closed down if you’re caught for evading taxes).

Make sure you go through these 6 Reasons Why You Need to Register Your Business. It’s going to help you think twice before taking a decision.

Was this article helpful? Don’t hesitate to drop other business ideas to start in Douala if you have. You can share with us in the comment section below.
Are you not based in Douala? Don’t worry! In the days ahead, I will be sharing with you:

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Stay Tuned!

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Photo by Tolga Ulkan on Unsplash