How to start an event planning business in Nigeria: registration, pricing, tools and your first clients

You can start an event planning business in Nigeria with very little money and a phone, but you need five things in place before the first paid job: a niche you can explain in one sentence, a registered business name, a way to take payments, a price list in lines, and a small team you can call on the day. Registering a business name with the Corporate Affairs Commission costs ₦21,000 under its May 2025 fee schedule, done online. This guide walks through each step, with the costs and sources, and the mistakes that cost new planners their first clients.

1. Pick a niche you can say in one sentence

"I plan events" wins nothing. "I plan Yoruba engagements and receptions in Lagos for 200 to 600 guests" tells a client whether you fit. Niches that work in Nigeria include traditional weddings by culture, burials and funeral receptions, milestone birthdays, corporate end-of-year parties, and day-of coordination for couples who planned the rest themselves.

Start where you already have experience or a network. A planner who has run three family weddings has a portfolio; a planner who has run none has a story.

2. Register the business

Clients who pay hundreds of thousands of naira want an invoice from a business, and payment platforms ask for registration documents above a limit.

• Business name or company: many planners start with a business name; a limited company suits you when you have partners, investors or larger corporate clients.
• What it costs: the CAC's new schedule of fees, published in the Official Gazette on 29 May 2025, sets name reservation at ₦1,000 and business name registration at ₦20,000, so ₦21,000 before payment charges. A private company is ₦1,000 for the name plus ₦10,000 for every ₦1,000,000 of share capital, so ₦11,000 at the lowest tier. Some older blogs quote lower fees; the 2025 gazette is the current schedule.
• How: registration is online on the CAC's i-CRP portal (icrp.cac.gov.ng): create an account, reserve the name, register with the reservation code, upload your ID, passport photograph and signature, pay through Remita, and download the certificate when approved.
• Free registration: the government has announced free business name registration schemes through SMEDAN in 2026, reported by Nairametrics in February and Pulse in August. Whether one is open when you read this is not something we could confirm on an official page; check SMEDAN before paying.

3. Set up how clients pay you

Open a business bank account once you are registered. Paystack lets you start as an unregistered "starter business" with your ID, BVN and personal account, up to ₦8,000,000 in Nigeria, and upgrade with your CAC documents later. Its local fee is 1.5% plus ₦100, capped at ₦2,000, with next-day settlement. Details in Paystack for event planners.

4. Price in lines, and take deposits

New planners usually undercharge, then absorb every extra guest and every late payment. Two habits fix most of it.

• Lines, not one fee: planning, coordination on the day, guest list collection, invitations and access passes, RSVP follow-up and the gate are separate lines. Published 2026 fee ranges are in how much do event planners charge in Nigeria.
• Deposit before work: no vendor gets booked until the deposit arrives, and the balance is due before the event week, not on the day. The proposal template in event proposal template has the clauses.

5. Build a small team you can call

You do not need staff on payroll. You need people you can call: two or three assistants, a head usher who can bring a team, and vendors you trust for decor, catering, sound and photography. Agree day rates in advance and pay on time; reliable ushers and assistants work for the planners who pay them first. Our guide to how many ushers for a wedding shows how to count the team for a reception.

6. Get the first clients

• Start with people who know you: family, church, school and work networks are where many new planners find their first jobs. Do one well and ask for a review and photos.
• Show the work: an Instagram page and a WhatsApp catalogue with real photos, what you did on each event, and the guest numbers.
• Offer day-of coordination: couples who planned their own wedding often need someone to run the day. It is a lower fee, a faster yes, and a way into referrals.
• Partner with venues and vendors: halls, decorators and caterers are often asked to recommend a planner.

7. Learn the parts you have not done yet

Courses are optional, but they fill gaps: contracts, budgeting, decor, running a business. There are free online options and paid in-person courses in Lagos; we compared them, with prices read from the providers' own pages, in event planning courses in Nigeria.

The tools that save the most time

The work that eats a planner's evenings is not the decor. It is the guest list arriving in pieces on WhatsApp, chasing replies, sending invitations one by one, and the gate on the day. On Comtev, which is free to run, an AI assistant collects the guest list on WhatsApp, invitations and QR access passes go out in one tap, automations send the follow-ups, and you invoice the client in naira and get paid through Paystack. You buy message sends and guest-collection seats at wholesale and resell them at your own price, so the guest side becomes lines you are paid for. See how it works.

FAQs

How much does it cost to start an event planning business in Nigeria?

The legal minimum is small: ₦21,000 to register a business name with CAC under the May 2025 fee schedule, plus payment charges. Beyond that, the main costs are a phone, data, transport and branding. Many planners start from their first deposit.

Do I need to register my event planning business with CAC?

You can start trading as an individual, but registration lets you open a business account, invoice as a business and move past the starter limits on payment platforms like Paystack. Most corporate clients expect it.

How do I register a business name with CAC?

Online on the CAC i-CRP portal: create an account, reserve the name, register it with the reservation code, upload your ID, passport photograph and signature, pay through Remita, then download the certificate once approved.

What qualifications do I need to be an event planner in Nigeria?

There is no required licence or qualification. Clients look at experience and a portfolio first. Courses help with contracts, budgeting and business skills.

How do event planners get clients in Nigeria?

Personal networks first, then referrals from past clients, Instagram and WhatsApp catalogues with real event photos, day-of coordination offers, and partnerships with venues and vendors.