Lesotho, a landlocked country in Southern Africa, offers diverse business opportunities despite its small size. The economy is driven by sectors like textiles, agriculture, and mining, with a focus on diamonds and water resources. The government encourages foreign investment through various incentives and a stable legal framework. Understanding the local culture and regulatory landscape is essential for successful business ventures in Lesotho.

Here are the 10 most attractive business in Lesotho

1. Agribusiness

This is the major income source for African continent. Since most African countries lack many technical skills, they are more focused in agriculture. Many of the countries in Africa have taken leverage of agribusiness.

As an individual, you can still start an agribusiness. Maybe you can be able to get financial freedom. In Lesotho, there is a new retail shop being Enrich holdings. If you managed to buy their shares, you can supply them with your fresh produce and earn a decent income.

2. Textile and Apparel

In addition, Lesotho is still the biggest official private-sector employer, employing over 46,500 people in the textiles, footwear, and clothing industry. The industry’s impact on the economy of Lesotho goes beyond the sector itself – major jobs and economic multipliers exist.

Lesotho garment enterprises are specialized in the manufacturing of clothes made of cotton knitted (mostly jeans, but some Chinese/corduroys) (t-shirts, polo shirts, tracksuits & fleece). Lesotho’s 41 clothing companies are anticipated to produce 90 million knitted clothing, 26 million jeans per year, and an expanding range of other fabricated top and bottom clothing.

3. Horticulture

Historically, processing of fruit and vegetables in its simplest form like pickling, sun drying or making preserves was practiced in the country from very ancient times in almost every home. In Lesotho, little activity has been done in processing of fruit and vegetables for commercial purposes. In an effort to diversify its export base, Lesotho has identified processing of fruit and vegetables as a potential production area.

Feasibility for production of deciduous fruit has been successfully piloted indicating fruit like peaches, apples, cherries, plums, berries, grapes and pears with high growth potential. Tremendous potential also lies in the production of high value cash crops such as mushrooms, asparagus, beans, peas, spinach, tomatoes and potatoes.

4. Leather and footwear

The leather industry in Lesotho is in its infancy stage. The country has 2 shoe manufacturing factories despite the fact that shoes qualify for all benefits under AGOA. The 2 companies produce mainly for export while a large share of the domestic market has to rely on imports from South Africa.

Foreign direct investment opportunities in this sector would include leather tanning and finishing, footwear and footwear components, leather garments, leather goods including bags, car seat covers, wallets, belts, gloves and other accessories.

5. Hotels

If you are considering starting a hotel, then it is time to implement your plan. There are five key elements to understand if you want to succeed in this industry: location, size, budget, experience, and market demand.

To get started, choose a great location, and hire an excellent support team. You will need a chef to inspect the food and line cooks, waiters, and waitresses to serve the customers. No matter the restaurant type, you need great culinary and business skills to make your dream come true.

6. Grocery store

A grocery store sells a wide variety of food products, fresh or packaged, and other household & personal care items. To start a basic grocery store, you can expect to spend a minimum of $10,000. Ideally, the bigger expense would be the rent, equipment, labor cost, cash registers/POS systems, and software. Some of these are recurring monthly fees. However, the location, size of the store, competitors, and local customers will significantly impact the business.

A new grocer should sell more items for a lower price to make a more significant profit. A new grocer can also save costs by buying the items from local distributors. Thus an average grocery store has a profit margin of 3% to 5%. The profit rates depend on the store’s location, size, and popularity. On average, a small to medium grocery store can make a profit of up to $100,000 annually if all the profit factors are considered. Another way to make your business more profitable is to diversify your store and add amenities like a coffee shop or stocking up the front of the store with magazines, batteries, etc., as these items can cross a margin of up to 70%.

7. Coffee

This may be one of the easiest business ideas that you may be concerned about if you live in a small town. Not only are the coffee establishments successful, but they’re also huge. After power carriers, the coffee sector stands second in the globe in terms of cash sales! High-tech and weapons. And this market still has a rather low entry-level.

In Lesotho, the roast coffee market amounted to USD 1.20 million (retail price calculation) in 2015. By 2025, the market for coffee in Lesotho is predicted to reach $3.75 million (at retail prices). Hence, the CAGR is projected to increase annually by 10.27% between 2020 and 2025.

Most coffee users thus choose local coffee shops and high-quality coffee goods, specialty items like flavored coffee. They’re also prepared to pay for a unique experience of coffee that affects all senses. This means that coffee roasters and baristas use novel techniques to study the characteristics of coffee, such as coffee brewing with nitrogen.

8. Renewable Energy Solutions

With an increasing global focus on clean energy, establishing solar or wind energy projects can address Lesotho’s energy needs and contribute to a greener future. If you were to start a solar power business in those areas where there is no electricity, you can make thousands of bucks.

In the rural areas, there is so much darkness. It is a struggle for them charge their cellphones. But if some solar dealership company can come to their rescue and sell them solar powers, they might even manage to use those solar panels to light during the night. Running a solar business can help you to get a financial freedom.

9. Electrical and Electronic Appliances

The country boasts a pool of labour resource which includes people who have graduated with different technical diplomas. The knowledge and skills acquired will enable them to work on subassemblies or the final assembly of an array of finished electrical and electronic products or components.

Opportunities exist in the production of a wide range of finished goods from manufactured parts or subassemblies. These could involve assembly of intricate manufactured products such as engines, computers, electrical and electronic components, radio or test equipment, machine tool controls and prototypes of different types of products to meet the domestic and international markets. Currently only four companies assemble electronic and electrical products such as television sets and circuit breakers for international and regional brands.

10. Restaurant

Restaurant industry is one of the business that has been creating millionaires in Lesotho for decades. There will always be the need for places to eat out. You can take advantage of this opportunity and start your own restaurant business in Lesotho today.

The restaurant business in Lesotho and many other places around the world is one of the most lucrative ventures to start up. This is largely a result of the insatiable worldwide demand for food, which doesn’t just make it a highly profitable business for building entrepreneurs, but also one of the best recession proof and all season business ideas to explore.

Conclusion

The success of every business is in the planning, and your ability to execute your plan. There are some key elements that you must assess before committing to any business venture. These are profitable business ideas in Lesotho one can start and they are very lucrative for all Basothos and investors. As a rule of thumb, offering lower prices on higher purchases will ultimately win more customers and increase profitability.