Stakeholders in the Nigerian print sector have been urged to reassess the extent of rivalry as experts warn that unchecked competition may stifle industry growth. While intense market competition traditionally drives excellence and pushes companies to innovate, a purely combative approach is proving unsustainable.
In a recent blog post, industry analyst and Chief Executive Officer, Technology Global Services Limited, Akin Oduwole noted that while rivalry is vital, it must serve a broader purpose.
“Healthy competition is necessary. It pushes innovation, improves service delivery, and challenges complacency,” Oduwole stated. However, he cautioned that competition without shared standards becomes a destructive “race to the bottom” featuring lower prices and diminished trust.
While the expert acknowledged that printers currently face systemic challenges, including unstable power, fluctuating exchange rates, and skilled labor shortages, he argued that individual rivalries fail to address these shared burdens, leaving businesses isolated.
Rather than work in isolation, Oduwole urged Nigerian printers to collaborate, highlighting the examples of industrial giants in Germany and China, where fierce commercial competition coexists with collaborative training, shared technical infrastructure, and mutual industry advocacy.
An erstwhile council member of the Chartered Institute of Professional Printers of Nigeria (CIPPON), Oduwole argued that the future of Nigeria’s printing industry depends not only on healthy market competition but also on building a more supportive and collaborative industry ecosystem.
According to him, “Many print businesses operate in isolation. Knowledge is guarded like state secrets, while industry veterans rarely mentor younger operators. Suppliers and printers often maintain transactional rather than strategic relationships, and collaboration is too often perceived as a sign of weakness. Meanwhile, the common challenges confronting the industry continue to intensify.”
Oduwole’s stance on collaboration in the printing industry is supported by a previous call from an expert at the Department of Printing Technology, Yaba College of Technology (Yabatech), Mrs. Catherine Funmi Oluwole, who called for stronger collaboration among stakeholders to reposition Nigeria’s printing and publishing industries for growth, sustainability and improved contribution to national development.
Oluwole shared this counsel in an inaugural lecture delivered recently at Yabatech’s 22nd Inaugural Lecture Series 2026. Stressing that the survival and advancement of the sector depend largely on coordinated efforts by government, financial institutions, publishers, authors and other key players, the expert maintained that collaboration is critical to reviving the printing and publishing industry in the country.
“Cooperation and contribution should be sought from all stakeholders, including government, publishers, authors, regulators, booksellers and readers, in order to build a strong printing and publishing industry,” she said.
