Nigeria’s printing sector got a boost in 2020 with the advent of OGB Copiers, a startup that was the focus of a recent business fair in Ikeja Lagos recently where the company’s CEO, Ogbuonye Echezona Somtochukwu, answered questions from business reporters from the major news media.
The 20-year-old entrepreneur from Orumba North, Oko, in Anambra State who is also an alumnus of Oko Polytechnic, explained that the startup is a company that supplies printing equipment such as copiers, branding equipment (such as heat press), plotters, laminating machines, banner printing machines and embroidery machines.
Disclosing the motivation for the founding of OGB Copiers, he said: “Now that our democracy is stable, there is a lot of elections and branding works all over the country, especially at election time.”
Speaking further, he added: “Most of the recent printing technology or machines were not available in Nigeria, so we had to pioneer the supply of cutting-edge branding machines in the country.”
When prompted for the rationale behind the business’s brand name, he offered a simple explanation― “OGB is the diminutive form of my surname, Ogbuonye. It is the first three letters, OGB. The Copiers in the name is derived from our sales and importations of copiers at the early stage.”
The dominant topic of discussion at the event was how the Covid-19 pandemic forced businesses to go online. The OGB Copiers boss avowed going online posed a unique challenge for his fledgling company.
According to him: “Marketing on social media in the country scared a lot of Nigerians as everyone was afraid to order goods online because of the activities of scammers in the country. Hence, it wasn’t that easy for us to build an online audience at the initial stage.”
Asked about the prospect for the startup, Ogbuonye said he is confident OGB Copiers will capture a fair share of the market.
“The difference between us and others is that we have good customer service; moreover, some of the up-to-date equipment we have available are not found anywhere in the country,” he said.
He also added: “We have also created a lot of time to promote how-to videos on up-to-date printing equipment for our audience.”
