UgoShoemaking is one of the skills you can use to create a decent income for yourself in Nigeria. It can start as an artisanal business and grow over time into a lucrative business. What it takes is skill and dedication.
One challenge many young graduates have is that they often feel ashamed to get into artisanal businesses. But shoemaking can be a decent occupation if it is approached with a combination of business acumen and shoemaking skills.
In this article, I will examine the prospects of shoemaking in Nigeria including the skills and materials needed to start.
About shoemaking in Nigeria
The Nigerian shoemaking industry has a lot of potential. The industry is expected to grow annually by 8% for the next five years (2024-2028). This growth is driven by a local demand projected to reach up to 130 million by 2028.
Nigerians also love foreign shoes and that means local shoemakers have to compete with larger, more established brands. This is why it is important to approach this with the proper skills.
What skills do you need to make a shoe?
So what skills do you need as a shoemaker?
Dexterity
The ability to work with your hands is something you would need as a shoemaker. You should be able to skillfully use tools to perform tasks like joining, sewing, trimming, and carving shoe parts.
Having dexterity also means the ability to use shoemaking machines like the skiving machine, sole sewing machine, heeling machine, and sanding machine. I will talk about these machines later in the article.
If you are good with your hands then shoemaking might be the right choice for you.
Creativity
Shoes are an important part of how we look. The ability to come up with shoe designs, bring them to life using drawings, and make them even more beautiful using patterns is something you would need to succeed as a shoemaker.
The shoes you make have to be beautiful and fashionable to attract buyers. Remember, you would be competing with foreign shoes created by established manufacturers.
To capture a part of the market you need to differentiate yourself somehow. Beautiful design is the answer.
Resilience
Creating shoes requires both physical and mental efforts but building a business in Nigeria requires even more.
You need to be able to put hours of physical labor into creating the perfect shoe. This takes physical stamina.
The economic environment is tough, and you might struggle to get customers in a competitive local shoe market. It takes mental stamina to establish a successful business in such a harsh environment.
How lucrative is shoemaking?
Shoemaking can be very lucrative it all depends on the niche, the quality of your product, and your marketing strategy.
There are different niches in the footwear industry. I will detail them below
- Baby footwear
- Leather slippers for men or women
- Shoes for Adults ( Men or women)
Leather slippers can be made with about N3000 but sold for N8000. This is about 166% profit. Shoes can cost anywhere from N7000 to N10000 and sell for as much as N25000.
This small business is lucrative.
However, you need to come up with a marketing strategy that shows your work to the highest number of people in the least possible time. This is where the internet comes into play. You can use Instagram, Jiji, Jumia, Konga, and Other social media to promote your products.
You can market and sell your shoes to physical stores and organizations like schools around you. There is some opportunity to export shoes to foreign countries like the UK and South Africa.
Shoemaking tools
There are so many shoemaking tools. I would list the most important ones and their uses;
The last
This is one of the important tools for shoemaking used for giving shape to the shoe. The type of Last you might use depends on the type of shoe you want to create. Since you may end up creating different shoes, you will need different lasts.
Shoe hammer
This tool is very useful in flattening leather and nails while producing shoes. Great hammers can flatten the leather without leaving marks that leave undesirable marks.
Knives
There are different types of knives used in shoemaking such as skiving knives, paring knives, last knives, and clicking knives. These knives are used to cut and carve leather and other shoemaking materials
Lasting Pliers and Nails
Lasting pliers are useful in shaping shoes and working on leather in narrow shoe spaces. These are used to attach parts of the shoe to leather. Working with nails requires dexterity to avoid injury.
Adhesives and sandpaper
Adhesives are used on heels to attach different parts of leather. Sandpaper is used for smoothening the edges of soles and giving your shoes a nice finish.
Where can you learn Shoemaking?
In Nigeria, shoemaking is usually learned through apprenticeships but there are various opportunities to learn the skill although many of them are not well-known
I recommend the Octoxii School of Shoemaking. They have a comprehensive program that is affordable and provides both offline and online courses. If you are looking to create income for yourself as a beginner, this course could be just what you need. This is one of the skills you can learn and profit from after NYSC in Nigeria.
Conclusion
Shoemaking can be a decent occupation that benefits young people but there are skills that you need to be successful. If you are interested in starting a artisanal shoemaking business you need to learn the shoemaking skills and develop a business strategy that ensures you are profitable.
Ugo
