IKECHUKWU OKEKE, chief executive officer (CEO), SIECO Leather Ventures, a footwear manufacturing company, said that Aba has different products for different markets. He spoke with GODFREY OFURUM in Aba. Excerpts:
What inspired you to go into shoe production?
I have been in this business for more than 20 years. When I was in secondary school, I used to visit my father’s shop. He was a dealer in leather and other shoe manufacturing materials. Each time I visit him, some of his customers are young shoemakers. So, I got encouraged, because I felt I could do it as well.
How did you learn shoe production?
I didn’t go through formal training. I learnt by observing some of my friends, who are shoemakers. My first product was the one I built for myself, and when my friends saw it, they liked it and asked me to produce the same pattern for them.
From producing for them, I said to myself that this could be a business. So, after my secondary school in Enugu, I relocated to Aba and continued with the business.
What was your reason for relocating to Aba?
Aba is a commercial and industrial city. I felt that I would have better opportunities in Aba.
Do you have designers or you design your products by yourself?
I design my products. I can also recreate other designs.
What’s your experience so far?
Finished leather manufacturing is good business. It is a business that one can pass on to generations. However, manufacturers face a lot of challenges in Nigeria, which had stifled its growth.
The small business owners like us lack the necessary machines to produce seamlessly. Some of these machines are expensive and require Government support, through the banks to enable us acquire the right machines to enhance our production.
Most of us provide our own power, and at the same time pay so much in taxes and levies imposed on us by State and Local Government agencies.
How can the government come in to solve these challenges?
I’ll want the government to grant us cheap loans, through the Bank of Industry ( BoI), to enable us to acquire machines.
There was a time some of us at Powerline Cluster were given BoI loan forms to fill and after that, we didn’t hear again from the bank.
Can you mention some of the machines that you need for production?
We need Cutting Machine, Sewing Machine, Pressing Machine, Coupling Machine, among others. However, the ones I mentioned are the most important.
So, how have you been producing without these machines?
Well, we have firms that have these machines in the cluster. So, they render services to us. However, due to the traffic in such outlets, we sometimes don’t meet up with our customers’ orders. So, having such machines will ensure seamless production and higher volume.
Do you have an issue with electricity?
No, power is not our challenge. Power has improved in Aba. Our challenge is a lack of machines.
What’s your production output currently?
Our current production capacity is 1,000 pairs a month. Our output will triple if we get the right machines.
Where is your market?
We have customers from Onitsha, Lagos, Kano, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, and other African countries. They come here to buy, and sometimes we waybill to them.
What is your advice to youths who are not engaged or want to come into shoe production?
Some of our youths are not patient; they want to make it fast, but my advice to them is that if they learn a skill, like shoemaking, it will help them in life.
There is an impression that Aba-made shoes are inferior; is it true?
When we were growing up in Enugu, I used to hear Aba, and we described it as inferior, but when I came to Aba, I discovered that Aba has different products for different markets. If you want quality products, you will get them in Aba. We produce according to customers’ orders. My products are of high quality. It is comparable to Italian products, and my customers can attest to it also. If you use my product, you will understand what I am saying.
Some artisans have been calling for government support inform of grants or loans to help them acquire machines for automation of their production. Do you subscribe to that call and why?
Yes, such support is highly needed. Like I told you earlier, we are not meeting our client’s orders because our processes are not fully automated. If we get these machines, our production capacity will increase.
Previous administrations in the State, especially the immediate past government, promised to help us; we filled forms, but at the end of the day, nothing came out of it.
What gave you the confidence to emboss your label on your products and not a foreign label?
I use my label because it is my identity. I want my customers to know what they are buying and where the products are coming from.
SIECO is synonymous with quality, and our customers know it. We produce high-quality products, and I will continue to put our label on our products. I am sure of my products and will not put foreign labels on it.
