‘Start-ups need to be competitive to increase survival’

Kenechukwu Chibuikem Okafor is a Mechanical Engineering graduate of Landmark University. He is the founder and CEO of Ezra Footwear, a start-up shoe manufacturing business.

Kenechukwu was inspired to establish his business by his parents and his love for leather products. The achievements of his parents motivated him on a daily basis and in 2016, he established Ezra Footwear. He is also the founder of Ezra farms.

The young engineer started the business with his entire savings. According to Kenechukwu, his business has grown since starting and demand for his products is also rising.

He tells Start-Up Digest that he sources his raw materials from local markets across the country and also imports some of them.

“We source for most of our materials from local markets and also import from Indonesia,” the footwear maker says.

Kenechukwu recently won the Entrepreneurs Organisation’s Global Students Entrepreneurship Awards (EOGSEA) (Nigeria chapter) and represented the country at the global finals in Germany.

Kenechukwu states that the footwear industry has the potential to diversify the country’s economy away from oil and earn huge foreign exchange for Nigeria, adding that what is required is the support from government.

The young entrepreneur assures that the country has what it takes in terms of raw materials and the needed skills to be footwear manufacturing hub in Africa.

When asked about his expansion plans, he says, “I have scheduled a lot of expansion plans which I have already started working on through the help of my parents who has been supporting me from the beginning. Currently I am making efforts in securing more machines for production and also expand the factory space.”

“I also intend to start training other youths on footwear manufacturing. I am saving towards achieving all this within the shortest possible time,” says Ekenechukwu.

Answering questions on the challenges the business is facing, Kenechukwu replies that rising cost of raw materials remains the major issue. He adds that prices of every material needed for production of footwear has risen in recent times.

This has increased his production cost at a point when customers are reluctant to pay more. Also, he stresses that his inability to meet up with the huge demand for his product is a challenge.

The young entrepreneur wants the government to improve on the ease of doing business so that cost of production can decline and the country’s products will become more competitive.

He states that the issue of competitiveness has been a major factor hindering the growth of the country’s footwear industry as a lot of foreign shoes are cheaper than locally produce ones.

The engineer-turned-entrepreneur said when production cost is cheaper, Nigeria’s shoes will compete favourably with the imported ones.

Kenechukwu also urges the government to assist start-ups with finance. “A lot of Nigerian youths have wonderful business ideas but the finance to bring them to bear is what is lacking, forcing many to never establish their businesses. But if government can start supporting start-ups with finance, many of them will establish their business,” he says.

He states that government has not given enough support to the leather sector, stressing that a lot of footwear makers in the country have shut down due to harsh operating environment and lack of government support.

“A lot of people started footwear production line and were forced to close down because they could not cope with the economic situation. The footwear industry can be a good source of export for Nigeria with much support from the government,” he says.

On advice to other entrepreneurs, he says, “We all go through bad days. I have been through a lot of bad times, but what matters is not how hard you fell but how you got back up.”

Josephine Okojie