Rationale
The Covid_19 experience affords us yet another opportunity to begin to produce all our foot-wear needs, locally. Production of foot-wears (shoes) is necessary for our wellbeing because shoes are an extension of clothing; and as earlier pointed out, clothing is a basic necessity just as food and housing.
Opportunities
Shoes come in various shapes and sizes, and are worn for different purposes. Usually, the types and sizes of shoes to be manufactured at a given time will be determined by the taste and fashion of the target consumers who will use them. There are many types of shoes that an entrepreneur can make. These are not limited to loafers, sneakers, sandals, boots and high heels but also include school shoes, canvass and slippers. The designer imagines the shoe style that would suit individual styles the most. Considering the relatively high population of Nigeria, and given that virtually everyone – babies, children, adolescents and adults – all have need for shoes, the demand for shoes is very huge. Hence, the opportunities that lie in footwear production business are potentially vast.
The recent ban on imported shoes is a very good development in that it will discourage the hitherto entrenched penchant for foreign shoes. Although the ban does not affect the importation of safety shoes used in the oil industry, and also, specialized sports shoes, canvass, and completely knocked-down parts, it gives hope to the long-time survival of the local shoe industry. In case you may want to position yourself to take advantage of the impending fortunes of the local shoe industry, the entire information below will surely be useful.
How to start a shoe production business
There are two alternative ways to start the business; starting small as an apprentice or starting big as an entrepreneur. The first option necessitates the acquisition of apprenticeship training for a year or two from someone who is skilled in shoe making. Working under a master as an entrepreneur enables the worker to gain skills and experience before the worker may be assisted to set up a business of his own.
The number two option is to start big as an entrepreneur (master/ owner/ managing director); and then beginning right away to employ skilled staff who will assist in handling production and other subordinate tasks. The entrepreneur would normally need the services of creative shoe designers, production staff, marketing and administrative staff. An enterprise of this nature is usually set up on a large-scale, and requires more capital because the entrepreneur will need a fairly big or medium-size factory, equipped with the basic machinery, tools and facilities.
The type of Raw Materials and their sources
Materials needed for shoe-production include a piece of leather or fabric or rubber or plastic, some sort of soling, synthetic heavy-duty thread and Barge or rubber cement. It is also possible to make the sole of local shoes from a non-radial-belted tyre (that is, tyre that is cut with a utility knife into sections slightly longer than the particular shoe-sole, which are subsequently trimmed out on a band saw). Materials for making shoes in Nigeria can be bought at tanning farms and in big commercial markets like Kano, Lagos and Onitsha.
Core Machinery & Tools for making Shoes
The core machinery for making top-class shoes in a big operation is an industrial sewing machine. An industrial shoe-maker will also require other tools for tightening up materials on the shoes, and a special device for processing the edges of the sole, as well as specific eye-letting tools. Additional equipment can be purchased depending on the type of shoes to be made. For instance, If thick leather is involved, then the shoe-maker will require a skiver (knife which uses disposable razor blades) to thin the thong channel as well as the insides of the vamp and heel sections, where they overlap.
For manual processing, the main machinery required is a simple sewing machine, used essentially for stitching and fine-tuning the edges after fitting leather or other stuff have been fitted on the sole.
Labour Requirements
The number of workers needed in a shoe-making venture ranges from 10 to 50 for a small operation, and up to 100 workers for a medium-sized operation. Just like in a typical production factory, the numbers are more in the technical department than in the administration/ finance, marketing and other departments because the technical people are the ones that make the shoes. The other departments merely provide ancillary services. The technical people are the ones that do the entire designing, cutting, operation of the industrial sewing machines, stitching of the buckles, and gluing of the leather to the soles.
Summary of Start-up Costs
Consider a small modern shoe production factory that can employ 20 people, using a mix of manual and quasi-industrial methods. The start-up cost will be as shown below.
NSub-total, Preliminary Costs 450,000.00
Sub-total Fixed Assets 2,360,000.00
Raw Materials (provision for quarter 1) 3,402,500.00
Labour (salary provision for quarter 1) 2,015,000.00
Operating Expenses (provision for quarter 1) 644,815.00
TOTAL START-UP CAPITAL 8,872,315.00
Details about the suitable location for starting a shoe factory, space requirements, risks, process flow, market analysis including strategies employed by other successful operations, financing arrangement, profitability, project evaluation and implementation plan and other essential information will be embodied in a bankable feasibility report to be prepared for interested investors.
If you need the writer’s assistance, contact him at: chukwudiodili902@yahoo.com
