SME Spotlight: The Paper Packaging Company

As Nigeria’s largest city, Lagos generates far more waste than any of the other urban centres in the country. It’s estimated that the metropolis churns out 13,000 metric tonnes of municipal waste per day, and has about 7,000 tonnes of solid waste disposed of at landfill sites across the state in the same period.

A good portion of the garbage that the city throws up is single-use plastic. A lot of them don’t get recycled. And because they are not biodegradable, they pollute public spaces and constitute a long-term nuisance to the environment.

Thankfully, several businesses have begun to tackle this problem. Some are making waste collection and processing much easier. Others, like the Paper Packaging Company, are offering environmentally friendly alternatives to single-use plastic.

The Paper Packaging Company produces paper bags, paper cups and accessories, and paper food packaging—all of which are biodegradable. In all, it makes about 140 different products, which are bought by its clients in Lagos (where it’s based) and elsewhere in Nigeria.

Chidi and EfeOguegbu founded the company in 2014. In the years that have followed, they have built it up by leveraging the experience they’ve gained from multiple sectors. Efe is a financial analyst and has worked in the banking industry. Chidi is a serial entrepreneur; he’s also built Tradr.ng, an online shopping platform. He is currently CEO of the Paper Packaging Company.

The firm makes and sells plain, customized and generic paper bags. The bag types it produces include no-handle paper bags, twisted handle paper bags, die-cut handle paper bags, and paper handle paper bags. Clients may either purchase plain versions of these items or provide specifications for customized bags. This applies to the other products that the company creates.

The Paper Packaging Company also makes plain and customized paper cups of various kinds. They range from regular paper cups to pink, blue and green ice cream cups. All of these are available in a number of sizes. Customers can buy accessories like simple cup lids, coffee cup lids, dome lids, and paper straws from them as well.

There are food packages on offer too: boat trays, burger boxes, lunch boxes, pizza boxes, popcorn packs, salad packs, Chinese food boxes, and snack boxes (with and without windows), among others. There are plain and customized versions of these items.

The company runs an affiliate program. Persons who refer buyers to the Paper Packaging Company can get paid up to 10% of the value of purchases as commissions. There are also discounts for customers who purchase more than 3,000 products at a time from it.

Individuals and businesses that want to resell the company’s products to third-party buyers can sign up for one of its reseller plans. Each plan has a price and volume of products that can be resold under it. Resellers who meet the purchasing target of a higher level can upgrade to that level and enjoy the discounts that come with it.

The Paper Packaging Company wants to make environmentally friendly packaging available to everyone across Nigeria, as well as the broader African continent. While there’s a good deal of ground left for them to cover, they remain laser-focused on achieving their aim.