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A WiFi hotspot business sells internet access by the hour, day or gigabyte to people near your router. Guests join your WiFi, see a login page, pay, and get online. It works at cafés, hostels, estates, offices, schools and shops. This guide covers what you need and the order to do it in. It takes most owners one day to go live once the equipment is in place.

What you need

Selling internet access to the public is regulated by the Nigerian Communications Commission. Check which licence applies to your business with the NCC before you start charging.

1. Choose the venue

Look for a place where people stay for hours and their mobile data runs out. Good signs:
  • People already ask “do you have WiFi?”
  • Mobile network signal is weak indoors.
  • The same people come back every day, like students, residents or staff.
Repeat guests matter more than passing traffic. A hostel of 100 students who buy a daily plan is steadier than a busy road. Your plans can only be as good as your link. A slow link shared by many guests feels broken, and guests stop paying.
  • Starlink works almost anywhere and needs no cable.
  • Fibre is the most stable where it reaches.
  • A 4G router is the cheapest way to test a venue before you commit.
Keep the link’s own router as it is. Your hotspot router plugs into it.

3. Get the router

Use a MikroTik on RouterOS 7.3 or newer, or a router running OpenWrt. New MikroTik routers ship with RouterOS 7. If you buy a used MikroTik, check the version first in Winbox under System → Resource. For a large building, add access points. Plug each one into the router, set it to access point or bridge mode, and turn off its own DHCP. The router stays in charge of who is online. See MikroTik hotspot billing for the full MikroTik setup.

4. Decide how guests pay

Most guests in Nigeria pay by bank transfer, card, USSD or OPay. You have two ways to receive the money. Guests who pay cash can use printed vouchers. You can also give vouchers to agents who sell them for you.

5. Price your plans

Start with a few simple plans and change them once you see what sells.
  • Time plans, such as one hour, one day or one week, are easy for guests to understand.
  • Data plans, such as 1 GB or 5 GB, protect you from one heavy user eating the link.
  • A speed limit on each plan keeps the link fair when the venue is busy.
Work out your floor first. Add up your monthly internet bill, power and software. Divide by the number of plans you expect to sell in a month. Your average plan price must stay above that number. New phones can get a few free minutes to try the WiFi before they pay. Guests who try it are more likely to buy.

6. Go live

  1. Create a WifiPadi account. It is free for 21 days, with no card needed.
  2. Set up your account with a location and your first plans.
  3. Connect your router by pasting one command.
  4. Connect a payment provider, or switch on Instant Payments.
  5. Join your WiFi on a phone and buy your cheapest plan to test the whole flow.
After the free trial, WifiPadi costs ₦10,000 per location a month. New accounts can instead pay 2.5% of their WiFi sales, never more than ₦10,000 per location a month. No sales, no bill.

7. Grow

  • Put a poster with your WiFi name and prices where guests wait.
  • Sell plans over WhatsApp to guests who are not on site yet.
  • Run promotions on slow days.
  • Add a second location once the first one pays for itself.

Frequently asked questions

You can take payments without one. Switch on Instant Payments and guests pay through WifiPadi’s payments partner. You only need your name and a bank account. Check separately with the NCC which licence applies to selling internet access.
No. If you can copy and paste, you can connect a router. Every step is in this help centre, and the WifiPadi team answers on WhatsApp.
A MikroTik on RouterOS 7.3 or newer, or a router running OpenWrt. WifiPadi also offers a ready-to-use Nano Pi router. See Onboard a gateway to compare them.
WifiPadi has no limit on routers or guests per location. The real limit is your internet link. Use data plans and speed limits so a few heavy users do not slow everyone else down.