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In 2024, Olajire Azeez, a business management student, landed her first social media management job while studying at Miva Open University, a Nigerian-based online private university.
Now, in 400-level, she has just left her second social media job to focus on exams. “It was stressful, but I needed the extra income,” she said. Her most recent role paid ₦150,000 ($109.79) a month.
For Victoria Akinbode, a final-year Animal Production and Health student of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, selling shoes on WhatsApp provides an extra income stream of at least ₦50,000 ($36.59) monthly.
“It is not fixed,” she said. “Sometimes it is more.”
Azzez and Akinbode are not alone. A nationwide study of more than 4,000 students across 55 tertiary institutions in 29 states found that two-thirds of surveyed students already earn income while still in school, either through freelancing, digital services, or small businesses.
They are part of a campus gig economy that may now be generating more than ₦400 billion ($292.78 million) annually.
The study, conducted by The Garage, a startup building coworking spaces on university campuses, reveals that across Nigerian universities, students are earning an income, supporting families, and exporting digital services from campus hostels.
While this reflects that Nigerian students are active participants of the digital economy, it is also a consequence of the country’s tough macro-economic conditions, with years of double-digit inflation forcing many Nigerians to hustle.
Prolonged inflation crisis and shrinking formal job opportunities have pushed more young people into self-employment and digital gig work. By the third quarter of 2023, 87.3% of employed Nigerians were already in self-employment.
At the same time, the World Bank estimates that 139 million Nigerians live in poverty, even as the government pursues economic reforms aimed at stabilising the economy.
For many students, having an extra source of income is not a matter of choice but a necessity.
The early workforce
The Garage’s report found that 80% of working students already have more than two years of professional experience, and one in five student workers has sustained freelance work or businesses for four years or longer while studying.
These figures indicate that most student workers earn more than Nigeria’s national minimum wage of ₦70,000 ($51.24) per month. Nigeria’s median monthly income is about ₦200,225 ($146.55), according to a report by Risevest, a Nigerian fintech that allows users to invest in dollar-denominated assets.
Estimating the size of Nigeria’s student economy
Nigeria has roughly two million university students across public and private institutions.
If even one-third of them are working while studying, that suggests about 666,667 student earners.
Using conservative assumptions, if the average student earns ₦50,000 ($36.59) monthly, and about 666,667 students are working, then Nigerian students may collectively generate roughly ₦33.33 billion ($24.39 million) every month.
That translates to roughly ₦400 billion ($292.78 million) annually flowing through the student economy.
The digital gig economy on campus
Much of this income comes from digital services rather than traditional employment. Students primarily work in service-driven sectors, including content services (26%), marketing (15%), social media management (15%), product design (9%), software development (7%), code crunching (7%), data analytics (6%), and virtual assistance (6%).
These industries typically have low barriers to entry, making laptops and Internet access entry points into the digital economy.
The survey showed that 43% of students work for Nigerian companies, 40% work for both Nigerian and foreign clients, and 17% work exclusively for foreign employers.
For many students, and generally, remote work contracts with foreign startups often offer higher pay than local roles, even if payment delays and unstable Internet connections remain challenges.
WhatsApp runs the student marketplace
Students who are not working for employers have founded businesses.
The Garage’s study found that one in four surveyed students runs a business, with most ventures operating entirely online.
E-commerce dominates these student businesses, and more than 53% of student entrepreneurs rely primarily on WhatsApp to reach customers.
Instagram (19%) and Facebook (19%) often serve as secondary marketing channels, according to the survey.
For many campus businesses, a WhatsApp broadcast list functions as a storefront, advertising channel, and customer relationship system at once, allowing students to run retail operations without the overhead of physical shops.
Most student businesses remain small-scale. Three out of five student entrepreneurs earn less than ₦100,000 ($73.19) monthly, while only 5% generate more than ₦350,000 ($256.18) each month.
When student income becomes family income
For many students, earning money is not only about independence but also about household survival.
The report found that 42% of student workers contribute financially to their families, meaning a significant portion of the campus economy ultimately flows into household budgets.
These contributions come at a time when the rising cost of living is putting severe pressure on family finances.
According to Risevest, a single person in Lagos now requires about ₦343,000 ($251.06) monthly to cover basic expenses, while a family of four needs roughly ₦1.24 million ($907.61), excluding rent.
Meanwhile, 57% of Nigerians earn between ₦50,000 ($36.59) and ₦200,000 ($146.39) per month, leaving little financial room for rising food and transport costs.
“In an environment where inflation pressures persist, and income growth remains constrained, the percentage of income spent monthly serves as a direct measure of financial stress and resilience,” Risevest stated in its Cost of Living report.
As household pressure grows, Nigeria’s universities are becoming more than centres of learning. They are emerging as testing grounds where students earn income, build businesses, and help sustain household finances.
