Growing from grass to grace: A story of Tolulope’s Pawprint

Tolulope Adebukola Ogundokun is founder and chief executive officer of Pawprint Limited. Ogundokun is a graphics artist and an entrepreneur. She has bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and her graphics translates into paper print and textile printing. Her firm Pawprint currently two subsidiaries: Limestone Limited and Addict by Pawprint.

She said making designs was her hobby. “It was my passion for designs that led to the establishment of Pawprint Limited in 2008. In my quest to improve my skills in sketching and making designs, I enrolled for free online classes. After my National Youth Service Corps, I worked for eleven months as a retail adviser for Etisalat Nigeria. I started learning designs online and doing printing on papers, calendars and annual reports, but I realised that this was a seasonal business.” She said that she decided at this point to start designing for textiles because she found that people wore clothes every day. This, incidentally, changed her entire story, as it brought a lot of cash flow into her business.

“I got a scholarship to study Entrepreneurial Management in Lagos business school. The scholarship was from Goldman Sachs. After my scholarship, I won the Federal Government Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YouWin). I used the grant for the expansion of my business and the purchase of machines for my limestone company,” she stated.

According to her, YouWin was a very good initiative by the government, as it helped her to expand her business, adding that the modes of payments were perfect.

She als revealed that she started her business with no capital.

“In printing when you get a contract, your client pays you upfront so you are able to do the job. I had nothing when I started and now my business has grown tremendously,” she explained.

She, however, had a rough ride with her employees.

“My biggest challenge is my employees. Most Nigerian artisans are not ready to work but want to make money at all cost and this is a big problem. When you employ them, they are not ready to learn but want to defraud you and run away with your ideas. About 90 percent of my staff are from Benin. I don’t like employing Nigerians because all they want to do is to defraud you and frustrate your business,” she lamented.

“They are very complacent and would take your ideas away. Another challenge I face is getting paid in dollars. I sell my designs online to Nigerians in the Diaspora and even foreigners pay in dollars but the banks would credit my account in naira. I need the dollars to buy my fabrics because I import 50 percent of my fabrics and source the other 50 percent locally,” she further said.

She stated that infrastructure was also a major challenge. “I need electricity to power my machines and the issue of poor electricity supply has been frustrating. I spend a lot on fuel and this has increased my production cost. I need electricity to put limestone on textiles,” she said.

“When I started off as a printer, I realised that printing was seasonal. I decided to go into designing for clothes. The business has survived for seven years because I increased my product offerings. I am in same line of business but I keep increasing my products to meet everyone’s need,” she stated.

She did not end here but offered some nuggets of advice to upcoming entrepreneurs: “If you must continue to stay in business, you must continue to come out with products that will meet the needs of people.”

ODINAKA ANUDU & JOSEPHINE OKOJIE