15 New and Creative Small Business Ideas

Carpet cleaning services

 

Carpet cleaning, for beautification, and the removal of stains, dirt, grit, sand, and allergens can be achieved by several methods, both traditional and modern. It is a new but potential business idea for individuals and needs further study;

 

1. Banana Chips

Potato chips are more popular than banana chips but banana chips have a special category of consumers and they are preferred by many. Banana chips are made from unripe bananas. Chips or wafers are crispy, salty or spicy and consumers prefer fresh quality. The most important raw material will be fully grown but unripe bananas. 

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2.Assembly of Small Diesel Engines

 

All types of diesel generators are imported into the country, and this import will increase as the economy expands requiring more power. Due to economies of scale, many diesel engine parts are manufactured by specialized manufacturing units and they are supplied to manufacturing-cum-assembling units.  Considering the importance of diesel engines, there is a strong need at the national and regional level to start; at least, assembling the engines from imported parts and components. During the last three years, average annual import of diesel engines was 7500 units.  The purpose of this project is to substitute imports by assembling diesel engines at home.  The existing demand can justify the establishment of a diesel engine assembly and fabrication plant.

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3. Fabrication & Assembly of Hand Pumps

For instance, currently there are more than 5000 water points that use hand pumps in the Amhara region with coverage of clean water supply in the Region  not more than 25 percent.  This indicates that the Region has a long way to go to provide clean water for the urban and rural population of the Region.  The market for hand pumps is composed of replacing old hand pumps and installing new hand pumps.  If we assume that ten percent of the existing hand pumps have to be replaced and 2000 additional hand pumps will be installed throughout the Region, annual demand for hand pumps will be about 2500.  This will make a medium hand pumps fabricating plant a viable venture. 

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4. Low Cost radio

Assembly works are not subject to the rules of economies of scale.  They do not require heavy investment in expensive plant and machinery which require large production volume to minimize units cost of production.  the assembly of radios need small machines and tools with minimum investment cost and highly trained manpower.  Radios can be assembled in homes with a limited number of hand tools.  A radio assembly plant can be financially viable if it assembles about 10,000 per year.  For instance, the demand for radios in the Amhara Region is definitely more than that.  Of the 3.7 million families in the Region, assuming 10%  do not have radios;  If a plant produces low cost radio in terms of original price and operation expense, there is a big market for radios in the Region.

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5. Ball Point Pen Refills

The main consumers of ball point pens and their refills are students. In the Amhara Region alone, it is reported that there are about 3.7 million students (2006/2007). Ball point pens and their refills used by students of the Region and by their compatriots in other regions of the country are imported. If we assume that one student consumes about 10 ball point pens (using refills) per academic year that annual consumption of ball point pens or refills in the Amhara Region is about 37 million.

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6. Hand made paper

In Ethiopia, per capita consumption of paper is estimated to be between 0.5 kg to 1.0 kg per year, while in advanced countries the consumption level is move than 100 kgs per year. Even the low level of paper consumption in Ethiopia is not fully met by domestic production. According to a study made on the market for paper products, the demand for paper is projected to reach 148,000 tons in 2011. 

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7.Egg Trays from Waste Paper

Poultry rising is one main income generating activity in the mixed farming system of the  rural economy. It is very common  to see women carrying eggs to be sold in the small urban centers located in every part of the region. But since there are no convenient household goods for holding eggs safely, eggs are broken which being taken to market places. This causes loss of income for many rural families. Poultry rising is also practiced in the urban centers of the regions and lack of a convenient egg holder is also a problem in the urban areas.

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 8.Bamboo furniture

Wood and metal based household furniture are becoming very expensive from year to year. The price for a local made full  set of sofa made in modern wood working enterprises ranges from Br 4,000 to Br. 30,000 in most urban areas of the country. These days it has become extremely difficult for a newly wed couple to acquire decent household furniture due to the high cost of the product. River second-hand furniture are expensive for many low and medium income families. 

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9. Eraser( rubber) production

Only in elementary and secondary schools alone, there were (2004)10.5million students in our country.  All these students and other members be of the society use erasers.  Annual consumption of this product could in the tens of millions of pieces; and all these are imported by paying very scarce foreign exchange resources.  It is strange that this vital educational material has not been promoted in the past for domestic production either by the state or by the private sector. 

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10. Mouse Trap

All the demand for mouse trap is net by imports. Annual imports of this device are estimated to be in the range of 200,000-250,000. There is domestic know-how to produce this useful device. But this product has been imported since it was known to the Ethiopian market. Production of mouse trap is not subject to the conditions of economies of scale; since it does not require large investment for big machinery and equipment. The existing market for mouse trap can make a mouse-trap making plant a viable venture. 

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11.Mobile saw mill

Due to shortages of logs (because of deforestation), the saw mill industry in Ethiopia is not expanding as demand for its products requires. Even with this constraint, production of lumber has been increasing between 1999 and 2003. For example, 3080m³ was produced in 1999 and 7220m³ was produced in 2003. But this production was a small fraction of the demand. To compensate this shortage, lumber is being imported from abroad.

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12. Electric stoves

The problems of fuel and charcoal scarcity and associated rising cost are prevalent in the country.  There is an acute problem of deteriorating natural forest condition due to deforestation.  The main reason for deforestation is usage of wood as fuel for preparation of food.  It is highly essential to have an alternative fuel resource to tackle the problem.  The manufacturing of electric stove will reduce the problem at large. 

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13. Water line fitting

All cocks and valves used in the water system of the country are imported.  Considering the extent of water supply system and its potential for expansion, one can safely assume that there is more than sufficient demand for cocks and valves which will make a new plant viable. 

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14. Stove wicks

Cotton/staple yarn in 6^s single and 10^s single    count is used for making wicks.  The yarn is braided in long dories along with cotton filling on automatic braid machine.  Braid is the formation of comparatively narrow fabrics or rope like structure by interlacing diagonally, three or more strands of materials.  Braid is formed by crossing strands diagonally in a such a way that one or more strands pass alternatively over and under one or more strands being laid in the opposite direction.  Main machinery includes braiding machines (32 spindles), winding machines, miscellaneous tools and ancillaries.

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15. Small mechanical threshers

Mechanical threshers are harvesting machines which separate seeds from straw mechanically.  There are different threshing machines for different types of crops.  This project idea deals with threshing machines for wheat, barley and oats.  These machines save time and human energy; they are also efficient i.e. grains are not lost during threshing time as they are in traditional threshing.

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Evergreen business ideas in Ethiopia

Coffee Processing (Roasting, Grinding & Packing)

This project idea is to establish coffee roasting enterprises in regional towns where roasting of coffee on commercial scale is virtually unknown. The present consumption of processed coffee in the urban centers of the Amhara Region is estimated to be about 4,015 tons, and this consumption level will grow with further urbanization and increased population. 

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Molasses Based Alcohol Production

Domestic production of alcohol between 2000 and 2004 was on the average 14,400 hectoliters per year. On the other hand, average annual production of molasses during the same period was 50,300 tons; currently, it is estimated that more than 20 thousand hector liter of ethyl alcohol per year  is used in Ethiopia. 

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Production of Malt for Breweries

Domestic production of malt between 1999/200 and 2003/2004 was on the average 13,650 tons per year.  This production volume is perhaps one-half of the malt requirements of the existing breweries.  Subject to detail market study, the existing deficit in the supply for malt is estimated to be between 5000 to 8000 tons. 

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Apple Production Farms

Apple production in Ethiopia is mainly will play an import substitution role. Most apple consumption of the country are satisfied through imports. Hence, domestic markets will be the main sales outlets for the apple production farm. In the long run as production grows international markets are still very significant due the potential of higher returns, but require higher quality.

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Cut-Stone Production

The main users for cut stones will be residential buildings, churches, fences of homes, some government buildings, some hotel buildings, etc.  As the construction of these buildings will expand in the future, the demand for cut stones will also expand.  If cut stones are to be supplied with comparable prices, people will prefer them to hollow blocks and bricks. The start up capital is among the least.

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Mini Cement Plant

Between 2000-2004, average annual production of cement was 972,000 tons.  Since there were no imports of cement, domestic production of cement was equivalent to domestic consumption.  This will require huge investment perhaps close to Birr billion which can be beyond the financial resource of investors.  The alternative will be to go for a small scale technology which requires less investment. 

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400 more business ideas and project profiles at https://sites.google.com/site/projectethio/home