How to Start Akara Business in Nigeria

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People neglect akara business due to its nature, because they believed that akara business is not lucrative.

Let’s reason it out together, if you go to where akara is sold especially early in the morning, you will see a long queue waiting to be served. Sometimes the akara may not reach everybody.  This is to tell you that the business is lucrative.

The key important aspect to start akara business is location, it pays most when you are located in a very busy areas, like school area, bus-stops, close to the market, busy street, this places are target zone, you don’t do this business in isolated area people must reside or do business within the environ it is a business  that deals directly with people.

Many Nigerians enjoy eating akara. This kind of business sells mostly in the morning hours and at night.

Instead of selling  akara in an open dirty enviroment  which will not attaract people to buy, get a show glass, put more spices on it.

The question is: how to start akara business in Nigeria? Akara business is something you can easily put together, it does not require special skill. However, you have to master the art of producing delicious akara that will increase the number of buyers. The procedure given in this post will help you achieve that.

How to Start Akara Business in Nigeria

Though it’s origin is said to be from the Yoruba tribe of Nigeria but somehow it has found its way to the hearts of other west African countries and even beyond.

Akara, which is also known as black-eyed peas fritters, beans fritters, or Acaraje, is a very delicious, deep-fried bean cake made from black-eyed peas paste.

These are quick, easy, and tasty and involves only a handful of simple ingredients black-eyed peas, peppers, onions, salt, and seasoning cube. It is a vegetarian-friendly meal eaten in most parts of Nigeria. To start akara business in Nigeria,

Step 1: Learn how to make akara

You don’t need much training to start it, just a basic knowledge of it and the willing to improve your knowledge with time. You should also be observant and careful to hear your customers’ feedbacks and know how to improve on them.

How to make Akara: The setup on this one is extra-simple:

  • Soak the beans for about 30 minutes or till the skin swells.
  • Peel off the beans with your hands (the hard way) or use a blender and pulse a couple of times to split the beans (the easy way)
  • Blend the beans with very little water, too much water would result in flat or no akara
  • Incorporate air into the bean batter before frying using a whisk or wooden spoon
  • Regulate the hotness of the oil when frying. If the oil is too hot, it will burn the bean fritters and may result in false cooking which will make the inside undercooked.

To achieve a very fluffy akara/koose, you need to beat it to incorporate air into it. This can be achieved by using a wooden ladle and turning it clockwise until you achieve a lighter batter. If you have a hand mixer, feel free to use it as this was what I used and it cuts down the amount of time you have to spend.

Step 2: Know the things you need to get started

To start a successful Akara business in Nigeria, it is important to know the things you will need to get started. Such as:

  • Shop: You need a shed where you will be staying to fry the akara, and also some of your customers will prefer staying on your shop to eat the delicacy.
  • Seat: Like we earlier said, some of your customers will like to eat on your shop and they can’t be standing. Also, you’ll have people waiting for you to to bring out the hot balls from the pan. Actually, some customers prefer eating the hot ones and will prefer to wait for the one on the pan instead of paying for the ones on the sieve.
  • Source of fuel: A little gas cylinder will be ok. In some areas, you can also decide to make use of frying pans. Your location will determine the type you’ll use.
  • Showcase: This is not a must but it is very important. If you display the delicacies in a showcase after frying instead of just putting them in an open tray, believe me, just the sight alone will be enough to attract customers.

Step 3: Know the things to avoid 

  • Avoid frying your akara in an open, dirty environment. You might be getting regular illiterate customers but majority of learned people that I know avoid patronizing dirty shops.
  • Avoid exposing the snacks to flies. You can make it attractive by using showcases like we earlier said.
  • Don’t sell only akara in that your shop, add other products. People love eating akara and bread, you can add that to your shop to maximize profit. Also, after eating, you’ll need to drink water, so try getting at least two bags of pur3e water for a start and monitor how much your customers buy them.
  • Avoid using abusive words or being rude to your customers. Remember this adage, ‘your customers first’. take yourself like someone that is obligated to making his/her customers happy. You should also be conscious of the fact that your customers can act annoying sometimes and always be prepared for it.

Step 4: Capital

In most cases, starting an akara business doesn’t need that much capital, in fact, most of the people I have seen into it don’t necessarily rent big shops. They jut construct the shops beside the roads with the regular materials that are found near us and they are good to go.

The good thing about this business is that profit comes in short time: Unlike some other types of businesses, you will see your profit coming in on daily bases, this will help you to know how to buckle up and also increase your savings. You can check out this benefits of saving money in case you have not yet started it.

Step 5: Location

Akara business needs a very strategic position were customers can see you and come for patronage. It should be
A very busy road, School or Institutions environment, A junction that has many route, Close to residential or commercial centre.

The place should be an open space where you can do the frying too. If you run your Akara business inside you may end up eating them with your family except you are supplying. A place that doesn’t have plenty competitors is ideal.

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