Clare Aririahu, Author at After School Africa

6 Popular Investment Apps in Nigeria to Make Money From As an entrepreneur, have you ever been torn between options to save money but struggled to make the right decision? It could happen to anyone. The problem may not be how to invest, but the proper app to help you invest wisely. There are so many investment apps out there; however, if you do not have adequate knowledge of how they function, you might be making a huge mistake. It is not just enough to plan on investing your money; you also need to arm yourself with the right investment app. But then, it is possible that some people who wish to invest their money do not even know what investment entails. Therefore, before we fully delve into the day's business, it is wise to understand the meaning of investment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?vGGKO4ldC-5k&t13s Tap here to see What is investment? To a layman, investment is just putting your money out there to earn some interest for you. However, investment is more than that. It involves putting your money in a financial scheme—real estate, shares, and so on while hoping to make a profit out of it. With proper investment, your money will grow, which will help improve your standard of living. There are so many investment options you can explore. You have to also keep in mind that your money does not just grow overnight. It takes a more extended period. Before you know it, you are on your way to creating wealth. Having helped you gain knowledge of what investment is all about, it is also good to understand the process involved. As we’ve pointed out, some people do not know how the different investment plans work. There could be a variety of reasons behind that. One of them could be simply lacking knowledge or just having doubts and a fear of the unknown. Whatever the case might be, the advent of innovation has brought about the invention of different investment apps. These apps are here to solve your investment problems in the twinkle of an eye. You don’t need to run around, sign some papers, get a guarantor and their details, or have someone charge you a fee for helping you out before you are able to invest your hard-earned money. Now, you can comfortably spend your money on an errand from the comfort of your home, with your phone or laptop, without having to fear that an imaginary person out there is going to run away with it. With the app, you can track your money and understand its progress. No big deal at all. There are many apps online, but it may be difficult to make a choice. There is always an app for you and your choice of investment. Investment apps provide a platform for people to invest their money and track their investments. You need to track the money you invested to monitor its progress. To help you select the best of the apps out there, we have compiled five of them, and hopefully you will find them very helpful and easy to operate, as well as make a sound investment decision. 6 Popular Investment Apps in Nigeria to Make Money From Disclaimer: We are not affiliated with or endorsing any of these apps. Deal with them at your own risk. 1. PiggyVest One of the most reliable investment apps in Nigeria is PiggyVest. It was first launched as a savings-only platform with the name Piggybank.ng. It continued that way between 2016 and 2019, when the investment was added to the portfolio and, thereabout, rebranded PiggyVest. With this app, any money you don’t want to spend could be saved for a particular period of time. You can choose to save your money daily, weekly, or monthly. The most important thing is that you maintain your choice. There are several plans you can choose from with PiggyVest, and below is one of them: Piggybank. This is a plan that allows you to save daily. It is also called core savings. To add money to your core savings, you'll use Quicksave options. This helps you add money (as large as ₦500,000) from your bank to your core savings. If you are not comfortable with this option, you are faced with another one that would help you add money to your core savings. This is done by turning on your autosave. Here, you must set aside a particular amount of money to be deducted from your account at a specific time. For instance, if you want to save $2,000 every Sunday by 6 a.m., all you need to do is set up everything, and PiggyVest will automatically deduct the money from your account at the set time. That is, if you are on a weekly plan. The interest rate for Core Savings is 10% per year. If you have a reason not to hold on to the maturity date, you can break your savings and withdraw before the maturity date. However, the implication is that you would be charged a penalty fee of 5%. You are also free to withdraw on particular days (March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31), which you can change, but it must tally with a 3-month interval. Other plans include Target Savings, Safe Lock, and Investify. To get started with PiggyVest, go to the website and download the app to create your account. Set up your withdrawal account details, enter your debit card details to activate the account, and deposit your money. 2. Cowrywise Cowrywise has been in existence for over 20 years. Even in the comfort of your home while enjoying your sleep, your money can work for you. With their investment plan, you can make up to 15% per year. Cowrywise has easy-to-use financial tools that could enable you to plan your financial life. Your money is meant to be withdrawn at the maturity date, though you have the option to withdraw part or all of the money with your interest. If you feel like rolling over the savings to another period to enjoy compound returns,. Cowrywise, like PiggyVest, has investment plans that include: Regular Savings. With this plan, you can save daily, weekly, or monthly for at least 3 months. You must set up your savings plan upon signing up and registering your debit card. The stipulated money will be deducted on the stipulated days. Life Goals. If you plan to save for a long period of time, life goals are a good plan for you. The minimum maturity of the plan is one year. Halal Savings. This Cowrywise savings plan is specifically for Muslims who do not believe in earning interest on their savings. If you subscribe to Halal Savings, ensure no interest is involved. To start with Cowrywise, you will need to visit their website and download the app. Register on the platform, pick your desired plan, and start saving and investing. Read Also: How to make money from your phone: 10 Best Ways 3. Pillow Pillow is a dollar savings app that allows anyone, including Nigerians, to virtually save their funds in dollars while earning daily passive income. You can earn up to 14% annual interest on your deposit. Pillow is available across 60+ countries. Additionally, you can deposit and trade crypto on the app to earn high returns. You can start small, saving in dollars with as little as NGN3,000. You can also invest in dollars through fiat currency or the naira and earn returns. 4. I-invest I-Invest is one of the investment apps in Nigeria. It is specially made for investors to purchase securities and Treasury-related instruments on their own without having to go through an investor. As I type this, it is only Treasury bills that could be bought and sold on the platform. Hopefully, other instruments will be added as time progresses. That is not all to do with this great app. You can invest your money at mouth-watering interest rates between 8 and 11%. Nevertheless, this is not for those trying to invest a small amount of money, as the least amount to invest is $100,000. To withdraw, you must select your desired withdrawal feature and bank account details, and you will receive your alert. To get started with I-Invest, download the app on the website, register, and start investing your money. 5. Carbon Carbon is a quick loan app for people who desire to take a loan; salary earners are the most preferred. Though it is a loan app, it has an investment feature that allows you to invest your money and earn an accrued profit. The investment app is called PayVest. You can invest between ₦10,000 and ₦10,000,000 with up to 16% interest and also track your investments and spending using the app. You can download the app from their website or the Google Play Store. 6. AfrInvestor AfrInvestor specializes in the management of assets, the trading of securities, investment banking, and investment research. It does not require any initial deposit and offers live equity trading, which helps you see the live prices of stocks and bid offers, if possible. It specializes in Nigerian stock. Treasury bills are not allowed to be traded on the platform. https://www.youtube.com/watch?vbpc7bsl4cyY Tap here to watch What are the best investment apps for you? From what you can see, there are so many investment apps out there, and most of them are reliable. However, you do not just pick up an app because you feel its features are beautiful; you have to, first of all, think about the reason for your investment. The reasons are not enough; you need to know the length of time you’d like to invest and what you hope to achieve with it. If you are yet to understand the rudiments of investing, you should take it one step at a time. Invest a little first; the minimum investment requirement of the app is good to start with. With proper education and knowledge, no one would tell you if you should go further with your money or try another avenue. Choosing an app that closely relates to your ultimate goal is best for you. Ensure you understand your financial goals and don’t invest because you feel it is necessary. That said, ensure the app is cost-effective, easy to understand, accessible to you at every moment, and requires an account balance you can always maintain. The last point is critical because if the minimum requirement that you should withdraw is too high, you may not be able to enjoy the benefit, especially if you are a low-income earner. Having explained that, you should know that there are statutory fees you are required to pay. You may not pay them directly, but you inevitably pay them. Don’t lose out because of fear. Start now, and you will have your future. Thank you tremendously.

Clare Aririahu

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