Domestic cargo business has become one of the most successful enterprises in Nigeria in recent times. The growing need to send both retail and bulk goods by air within the country has contributed to the success of the business. And this has encouraged many to go into it.
Mr. Sola Dada, a 34-year old graduate, was almost getting frustrated after being in the labour market for six years. He was introduced to the business a few years ago. Today, he has a success story to tell.
Operators say you can go into the business with just a little amount of money and expect to start doing well almost immediately, if you are literate and enterprising.
The Managing Director, Ose‘s Transactions Nigeria Limited, Mr. Emma Odia, says many people have become successful by running the domestic cargo agency, which he describes as a flourishing business.
Odia, who is also the President, Domestic Airport Cargo Agents Association, says there are numerous clients seeking to send consignments (goods) to various parts of the country by air, especially from Lagos.
Most goods from overseas coming into the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, are usually transferred to the cargo section in the domestic wing for onward airlifting to other states especially Enugu, Port Harcourt, Kano, Yola, Abuja, and Owerri.
Apart from this, the DACAA leader says there are many organisations with offices in Lagos seeking to send their products and other cargoes to stations and offices in other parts of the country.
Explaining how the business works, the union leader says, ”Running a domestic cargo agency is a good business because operators live on commission. It works by receiving consignments (goods to be sent by air) from organisations and sometimes individuals on certain rates, usually calculated in naira per kilogrammes on the weight of the goods.
”As an agent, the airlines help you to convey these goods by charging you lower rates. The difference in the rates is what you get as your commission.”
While outlining the starting steps, Odia explains, ”Starting a domestic cargo agency is very easy. Anyone with a certificate of incorporation of his company can then become a member of the association by paying a membership registration fee of N250,000. From this amount, N50,000 is meant for registration form, and is non-refundable.
”The next step is to have an operations office located inside the Lagos airport‘s cargo section. This is acquired by paying the sum of N250,000 to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria as an annual rent.”
Learning the basic rudiments of the business is very easy, according to Odia.
He says the cargo agents either learn from colleagues in the same line of business as they try to get along or they may register at any of the aviation schools located around to acquire the knowledge. This, he says, takes just a few weeks. One of such schools is the Landover Aviation Business School in Lagos.
However, a major challenge currently facing the business, according to the DACAA leader, is the inadequate number of airlines ready to carry the consignments to their destinations.
He points out that for some reasons, Aerocontractors, which used to carry most consignments, has suspended operations, leaving only Chanchangi, Air Nigeria and IRS airlines to do the job.
The development, he says, has led to congestion at the cargo section as the remaining airlines cannot cope with the high demand. He notes that many of the agents, with the permission of the goods owners, are now forced to move some of the consignments by road.
The Managing Director, PTP Nigeria Limited, Mr. Jonathan Eghoboi, another operator, lists various items usually sent in retails and bulk by most clients to include laptops, computer systems, handsets, clothes, bags, communication equipment, electronics and companies‘ perishable and consumable products.
He lists some of the companies which usually send goods at the cargo section of MMA to include Globacom, Conoil, Mobil, Punch Nigeria Limited, AIT and MITV.
”One interesting thing is that apart from these Nigerian companies sending cargoes to other parts of the country mostly from Lagos, Nigerian and foreign traders importing goods from South Africa, Dubai, Hong Kong, Malasia and other countries depend on us to carry them by air to places like Abuja, Jos, Yola and Calabar among others.” he adds
Eghoboi says, ”The way you package your business will determine the extent to which you want to win big clients. Today, there are people who started small just a few years ago and they now have over 82 staff members, and offices located in most major airports in the country.”
An average of N120 per kilogramme on goods is charged, depending on the airline to be used. It is also important to note that the rate depends on the states and distance involved in the movement of the goods. What is charged in Abuja, for instance, is different from the rate in Yola.
The Managing Director, BOHMAT Ventures, Mr. Mathew Oboh, an agent, who says he ventures into the business five years ago, notes that there is nothing the agents do not send by air except arms, chemicals, inflammable substances and drugs.
He says the business is quite lucrative and anyone who is enterprising could become a successful operator in no time.
Enyinnaya Nnamdi
Sloane International Investments Ltd
C.E.O
info_sloanebizconsultants@yahoo.com
sloanebusinessmanagementconsultants.blogspot.com
Mr. Sola Dada, a 34-year old graduate, was almost getting frustrated after being in the labour market for six years. He was introduced to the business a few years ago. Today, he has a success story to tell.
Operators say you can go into the business with just a little amount of money and expect to start doing well almost immediately, if you are literate and enterprising.
The Managing Director, Ose‘s Transactions Nigeria Limited, Mr. Emma Odia, says many people have become successful by running the domestic cargo agency, which he describes as a flourishing business.
Odia, who is also the President, Domestic Airport Cargo Agents Association, says there are numerous clients seeking to send consignments (goods) to various parts of the country by air, especially from Lagos.
Most goods from overseas coming into the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, are usually transferred to the cargo section in the domestic wing for onward airlifting to other states especially Enugu, Port Harcourt, Kano, Yola, Abuja, and Owerri.
Apart from this, the DACAA leader says there are many organisations with offices in Lagos seeking to send their products and other cargoes to stations and offices in other parts of the country.
Explaining how the business works, the union leader says, ”Running a domestic cargo agency is a good business because operators live on commission. It works by receiving consignments (goods to be sent by air) from organisations and sometimes individuals on certain rates, usually calculated in naira per kilogrammes on the weight of the goods.
”As an agent, the airlines help you to convey these goods by charging you lower rates. The difference in the rates is what you get as your commission.”
While outlining the starting steps, Odia explains, ”Starting a domestic cargo agency is very easy. Anyone with a certificate of incorporation of his company can then become a member of the association by paying a membership registration fee of N250,000. From this amount, N50,000 is meant for registration form, and is non-refundable.
”The next step is to have an operations office located inside the Lagos airport‘s cargo section. This is acquired by paying the sum of N250,000 to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria as an annual rent.”
Learning the basic rudiments of the business is very easy, according to Odia.
He says the cargo agents either learn from colleagues in the same line of business as they try to get along or they may register at any of the aviation schools located around to acquire the knowledge. This, he says, takes just a few weeks. One of such schools is the Landover Aviation Business School in Lagos.
However, a major challenge currently facing the business, according to the DACAA leader, is the inadequate number of airlines ready to carry the consignments to their destinations.
He points out that for some reasons, Aerocontractors, which used to carry most consignments, has suspended operations, leaving only Chanchangi, Air Nigeria and IRS airlines to do the job.
The development, he says, has led to congestion at the cargo section as the remaining airlines cannot cope with the high demand. He notes that many of the agents, with the permission of the goods owners, are now forced to move some of the consignments by road.
The Managing Director, PTP Nigeria Limited, Mr. Jonathan Eghoboi, another operator, lists various items usually sent in retails and bulk by most clients to include laptops, computer systems, handsets, clothes, bags, communication equipment, electronics and companies‘ perishable and consumable products.
He lists some of the companies which usually send goods at the cargo section of MMA to include Globacom, Conoil, Mobil, Punch Nigeria Limited, AIT and MITV.
”One interesting thing is that apart from these Nigerian companies sending cargoes to other parts of the country mostly from Lagos, Nigerian and foreign traders importing goods from South Africa, Dubai, Hong Kong, Malasia and other countries depend on us to carry them by air to places like Abuja, Jos, Yola and Calabar among others.” he adds
Eghoboi says, ”The way you package your business will determine the extent to which you want to win big clients. Today, there are people who started small just a few years ago and they now have over 82 staff members, and offices located in most major airports in the country.”
An average of N120 per kilogramme on goods is charged, depending on the airline to be used. It is also important to note that the rate depends on the states and distance involved in the movement of the goods. What is charged in Abuja, for instance, is different from the rate in Yola.
The Managing Director, BOHMAT Ventures, Mr. Mathew Oboh, an agent, who says he ventures into the business five years ago, notes that there is nothing the agents do not send by air except arms, chemicals, inflammable substances and drugs.
He says the business is quite lucrative and anyone who is enterprising could become a successful operator in no time.
Enyinnaya Nnamdi
Sloane International Investments Ltd
C.E.O
info_sloanebizconsultants@yahoo.com
sloanebusinessmanagementconsultants.blogspot.com
