Moyo started working for the company as a sole processor before being transferred to the skiving section where his duties included among others sewing shoes. When he left the company, formerly owned by businesses mogul and Zanu (PF) honcho, Philip Chiyangwa, he decided to set up his own shoe manufacturing venture.
Exports to SA
He targeted many of the clients who used to give business to his former employer. After acquiring his own shoe manufacturing machinery from South Africa, Moyo started his business in 2011 and since then it has continued to grow from strength to strength.
“I specialise in the manufacturing of safari shoes. Most of my clients are safari operators and tourists. I also export some of my shoes to South Africa. Most people prefer my shoes because they are durable and are designed for all terrain,” said Moyo in a recent interview.
He said he was overwhelmed by orders from clients. He sells a pair of low cut safari shoes for $35 while a pair of high cut costs $40. He is assisted in his business by his wife and son.
Moyo decried what he described as exorbitant import tax duties on raw materials such as dyes and liners. “The government should support our sector by removing import tax duties on raw materials. If there is a reduction in import taxes, the prices of our products will obviously go down and this will lead to a lot of people buying the local products, rather than buying cheap and poor quality shoes from China,” he said.
Another retrenchee who has made a niche for himself in the informal shoe manufacturing sector is Jacob Matema, 41. He worked for several clothing companies in the city before starting his own safari shoe manufacturing company in 2008.
High demand
“Firstly, I started manufacturing leather products such as handbags, belts and jackets after gaining experiences from some clothing companies which I worked for before. I decided to diversify into shoe manufacturing in 2008 after realizing that safari shoes were in high demand,” said Matema whose workshop is located at Trust House in the city.
Like Moyo, Matema also specialises in low and high cut safari shoes. He sells a pair of the safari shoes for $30 low cut and $35 high cut. On average, Matema said he sells about 100 pairs every month.
“My clients are mostly individuals and shop owners. To avoid unnecessary expenses and losses, I always try to manufacture my products based strictly on orders,” he said.
Matema also lamented the high cost of raw leather as well as the exorbitant fees charged by the department wildlife management for obtaining a game skin licence.
“Most of the clients, especially tourists, prefer shoes made out of game skin. However it is very difficult to procure game skin because the department of national parks charges a yearly fee of $1,000 for the license. This is really killing tourism,” said Matema.
$50m for recapitalisation
Most of the shoe manufactures buy leather from Belmont and Prestige leather processing companies at $2.50 per square metre.
The informal manufactures also cited shortage of working capital, ageing equipment, power constraints and stiff competition from imports as the major factors hampering the growth of the sector. According to ZimTrade, the once vibrant leather sector requires $50 million for recapitalisation.
Over the years, the sector has suffered great losses due to the operating environment which has resulted in the sector employing only 3 000 people down from 12 000 since the inception of Zimbabwe’s economic crisis, which started in earnest during the late 90s.
The industry has also been adversely affected by poor quality Chinese made footwear that has flooded the market.
Post published in: News