How the Creative Enterprise Support Programme gave Oluwaseyi Fajimi the business foundations to turn a childhood obsession into an internationally acclaimed animation studio.
Oluwaseyi Fajimi had been drawing characters since he could hold a pen. Inspired by the cartoons and comics he consumed as a child, he filled diaries, gifted by his father, with imagined worlds and original figures. The passion was clear from the beginning. The pathway to turning it into a career was anything but.
Without formal animation training at university, Oluwaseyi taught himself through online courses, piecing together skills through determination and selfdirected study. A stint at an animation studio gave him his first real professional footing, hands-on experience that sharpened his craft and planted the seed for what would eventually become his first original IP, a project called ‘Pepe and Tomati.’ The concept was alive in his imagination. What he lacked was the business knowledge to bring it to life on his own terms.
Animation is an industry where creative talent and commercial infrastructure must work together. Without understanding production pipelines, intellectual property, revenue models, and business planning, even the strongest creative concept can stall. For Oluwaseyi, that gap was real and limiting.
In 2022, he joined the British Council’s Creative Enterprise Support Programme - Animation. The programme demystified the business side of an industry that had always felt creatively intuitive but commercially opaque. Oluwaseyi developed a comprehensive business plan, gained insight into the intricacies of animation production, and acquired the tools to navigate the creative process with commercial confidence.
The impact was immediate. Equipped with that foundation, he shepherded ‘Pepe and Tomati’ from concept to completed production, infusing it with African charm, humour, and cultural specificity. The result earned a place at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France, one of the most prestigious platforms in the global animation calendar and a significant milestone for any African animator.
The momentum continued. Through the British Council’s Creative DNA Programme, Oluwaseyi directed ‘Finding Jomijo,’ a collaborative project that screened at several international festivals, further cementing his reputation on the global animation stage.
Today, Folktail Studio operates from the heart of Lagos, producing commercial work and original intellectual properties for audiences well beyond Nigeria’s borders. Oluwaseyi’s ambition is clear: to build Folktail into the premier animation hub in Africa, a home for African stories, told in African voices, seen by the world.
Our Impact Stories is a curated collection of individual stories showcasing the impact of British Council programmes across Arts and Culture, English and Schools Education, Higher Education, Non-Formal Education, and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) across Sub-Saharan Africa. From fashion entrepreneurs in Ethiopia and Kenya to educators in Rwanda, animators in Nigeria, and heritage preservationists in Zimbabwe, the book captures the breadth and depth of what our programmes make possible when ability meets opportunity.
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