Cost of Starting a Tailoring Business in Nigeria (2024)

Tailoring is one of the most lucrative businesses ventures that you can invest in today in Nigeria. The reason for this is that the Nigerian population is growing daily and we are a very stylish people. Nigerians love to look good and will attend several occasions a month.

If you can design and sew clothes, you might just have a gold mine on your hands. The question that begs an answer is, “how much does it cost to start a tailoring business in Nigeria?” Read on to find out the answer to this question.


Cost of Starting a Tailoring Business in Nigeria

Cost of Starting a Tailoring Business in Nigeria

One of the important aspects that you must sort out before starting a new business is capital. Without capital, it is almost impossible to float a new business. When you are asking about the cost of starting a tailoring business in Nigeria, you are indirectly asking for how much capital you need. We will give you an overview in this section.

The amount you need to start this business depends on the level at which you want to run the business. For example, if you would like to start as a small-scale tailor, then you should have between N100,000 and N150,000. However, if you want to start as a mid-scale tailor, you need between N500,000 and N700,000. For a large-scale tailor, you should be looking at over N1 million.

Below is a list of the basic pieces of equipment and instruments that you need to start a tailoring business in Nigeria:


  • Shop: Anything from N84,000, depending on your location.
  • Sewing machine: Anything from N75,000 for manual machines, and anything from N160,000 for electric industrial sewing machines.
  • Scissors: From N1,000
  • Measuring tape: From N500
  • Sewing machine needles: From N2,000 per pack
  • Thread (60 pieces mixed colours): From N3,000
  • Worktable: From N15,000 depending on the size.
  • Generating set: From N75,000

PRICES LAST UPDATED: AUGUST 8, 2023.

Other pieces of equipment that you may need depending on the scale at which you operate include:

  • Overlook machines
  • Weaving machines
  • Embroidery machines

The prices of the instruments and equipment above change frequently. There are several reasons for this including location, vendors, government policies, custom duties, etc. Now that you know the cost of starting a tailoring business in Nigeria, let’s discuss how to start this business.

How to Start a Profitable Tailoring Business in Nigeria

There are several things that you need to do for your tailoring business to be successful in Nigeria. In this section, we will discuss a few of them to help you out.


Learn the ropes

Tailoring is a business that requires a lot of skill. In fact, it is one of those businesses that you don’t stop learning the ropes. This is because there will always be new styles and different innovative methods of sewing.

Before you even start this business, you must acquire some skills. To do this, you’d have to visit an existing tailor and undergo training. If you have the funds, you can enrol in a fashion school and acquire a certificate. The quality of training that you acquire will be a major determining factor in how successful you will turn out.

Some tailors prefer to specialize in a particular niche e.g. male clothes, female clothes, children’s wears, jerseys, etc. Others want to be jacks of all trades. We suggest that you learn as much as you can of everything and then specialize based on your feasibility study.

Feasibility study and business plan

Does a tailoring business need a feasibility study and business plan? Why is it even necessary? Many tailors don’t have a business plan and never carried out a feasibility study before they started their businesses. They just fell in love with the idea and began the business. Doing this is one of the reasons why some tailors will remain at a mediocre level.


A feasibility study introduces you to the industry in which you want to start your business. It tells you who your top clients are likely to be and what they like from their tailors. A feasibility study also shows you where to get materials, the cost of equipment and instruments, and how to fix your prices. Lest we forget, a feasibility study tells you who your competitors are, what they are doing, and how to outshine them in the market.

The results from your feasibility study are important in helping you to develop a detailed business plan. Business plans act as the map of a business. They also help the business owner attract investors and funding. If you are wondering where you will raise funds for your business, begin by writing a business plan. After writing this, you can present it to wealthy family members and friends, banks, and angel investors.

Find a location

The location of your business is another very important determinant of how successful your tailoring business will be. There are several factors that you should consider when choosing a location. Some of them include:

  • Possible expansion.
  • Security
  • Accessibility to customers.
  • High human traffic.
  • Proximity to market.
  • Power supply.

The location that you choose will be a function of your niche and how you want to run the business. Find a good shop that falls within your budget and satisfies the conditions that we enumerated above.

Raise capital

Without capital, it is impossible to run this business. Note that capital here isn’t just the physical cash to make payments and purchases. It also refers to the equipment and instruments that you need.

The truth is that you may not need to purchase everything. You may have friends and relatives that have some of these items laying fallow in their care. Simply ask them to save yourself some cost. Some of the ways to raise capital for this business include:

  • From friends and family members.
  • Angel investors.
  • Bank loans
  • Government grants.

Publicize the business

Publicizing your business is paramount to its success. There are several ways to publicize businesses today. From traditional print to social media channels such as Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Take advantage of as many channels as possible to make your brand popular.



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