Skillnaija All courses →

Selling Online in Nigeria: Instagram, WhatsApp, Marketplaces, Your Own Store and Delivery

Turn products into online sales across Nigeria: the right channels, prices that survive fees and delivery, listings people trust, safe payments, packaging and delivery that arrive, and customer service that brings buyers back.

Start learning free More Business courses

Free account required to open the lessons. No card, no fees.

About this course

Millions of Nigerians sell on WhatsApp status and Instagram, and most stay small because buyers do not trust them, payments get messy, delivery goes wrong and the numbers never add up. This course teaches the selling operation properly. You will learn which channels suit which products and how to start with two, how to cost and price so each order makes money after payment fees, delivery and returns, how to write listings and take photos that build trust, how to run WhatsApp Business and Instagram as a real shop with order records, how marketplaces and storefront tools work and when to build your own store, how to get paid safely and spot fake alerts and scams, how to package and deliver within a city, across states and abroad, how to handle complaints, returns and reviews, and how to keep simple records, follow the rules and grow. Every lesson follows a Kano leather-goods maker, a Lagos gadget seller and an Aba food trader. Free, like every Skillnaija course.

Hauwa Bello makes leather bags and sandals in a small workshop in Kano, the way her father taught her. Walk-in buyers and traders keep her busy, but last month three orders came from strangers in Lagos who saw her WhatsApp status. One paid, waited eleven days while the parcel sat at a motor park, then posted about it. Another asked, 'How do I know you won't collect my money and block me?' and never came back. Her Instagram page has 600 followers and no post since March. Her cousin Kunle, who sells phone accessories on Instagram in Lagos, tells her to 'just open everything'. Hauwa has good products. What she lacks is a map: where to sell, what each channel is for, and what makes a stranger trust her.

What you'll learn

Course syllabus — 10 lessons

  1. The online selling map in Nigeria16 min
  2. Your product, price and the numbers17 min
  3. Listings that sell: photos, descriptions and trust16 min
  4. WhatsApp Business and Instagram as a shop16 min
  5. Marketplaces, storefront tools and your own store16 min
  6. Getting paid safely17 min
  7. Packaging and delivery across Nigeria16 min
  8. Customer service, returns and reviews16 min
  9. Records, stock, the rules and growing16 min
  10. Your online selling plan and the project16 min

Your project

Your Online Selling Plan

One document (Google Doc with view access, or an uploaded Word or PDF file) with a headed section for each of the six parts, plus a link to the sheet from Part 5 if it is separate. No real customer data.

Certificates on Skillnaija are earned, not issued for attendance: you submit this project, it is graded against a rubric, and passing issues a certificate anyone can verify. See the full project brief, rubric and free workbook →

Frequently asked questions

Is Selling Online in Nigeria: Instagram, WhatsApp, Marketplaces, Your Own Store and Delivery free?

Yes. Selling Online in Nigeria: Instagram, WhatsApp, Marketplaces, Your Own Store and Delivery is completely free on Skillnaija. You need a free account to open the lessons, and there is no charge for the course, the project, or the certificate.

How long does Selling Online in Nigeria: Instagram, WhatsApp, Marketplaces, Your Own Store and Delivery take to complete?

5 weeks · ~3 hrs/week. There are 10 lessons, about 3 hours of material in total. You learn at your own pace and your progress is saved.

Do I need any experience to start Selling Online in Nigeria: Instagram, WhatsApp, Marketplaces, Your Own Store and Delivery?

Beginner. You can start from scratch — no prior experience is assumed.

What will I learn in Selling Online in Nigeria: Instagram, WhatsApp, Marketplaces, Your Own Store and Delivery?

You will build practical skills in Choosing online sales channels, Costing and pricing for online orders, Product listings and trust signals, WhatsApp Business and Instagram selling, Marketplaces and storefront tools, Safe payments and fraud prevention, Packaging and delivery logistics, Customer service, returns and reviews, Order, stock and sales records, Consumer protection and product rules in outline, Growth planning, Selling on Skill Market. Every lesson is written for a Nigerian context, with examples drawn from how the work is actually done and paid for here.

Do I get a certificate for Selling Online in Nigeria: Instagram, WhatsApp, Marketplaces, Your Own Store and Delivery?

Yes, but it has to be earned. You complete the course project — Your Online Selling Plan and submit it for grading. Passing the project issues a verifiable certificate; finishing the lessons alone does not.

Related Business courses

Ready to start Selling Online in Nigeria: Instagram, WhatsApp, Marketplaces, Your Own Store and Delivery?

It's free, it's self-paced, and it ends with something you can show an employer.

Start learning free