Chief Executive, AB Leather Work, Abraham William, has blended his talent with hard work to attain his goal in business.
He learnt the trade in 2002 in Akwa Ibom State and, thereafter, came to Lagos to set up a shoe-making shop. Though he started with a small capital, the business has grown like an oak.
His customers comprise mainly those from outside Lagos. many people come to him with their designs for production. William is particular about keeping his shoes in good shape. In his childhood days, he was reputed for paying attention to footwear, branded clothes, well-set hair and clean socks.
A self-made industrialist, he would not settle for what comes his way, but rather he would keep trying until he is able to build something.
Today, he runs a cottage shoe production firm. His endurance has paid off as it has enabled him to get experience, knowledge and confidence, especially during difficult times.
Though he had tough times during the initial days, he did swim the rough water and made his company’s brand a visible and sought-after. He said consistence is the rule of the game.
The graduate of Business Administration said young people could acquire skills and contribute to the growth of the footwear and leather industry. Regrettably, he said, unemployed youths, who could make a living from shoemaking, do not like learning the trade.
Instead, they are going into ‘yahoo-yahoo’(Internet fraud). He however, counselled young people to explore opportunities in small scale shoe production.
He explained that the sector has a wide value chain which the young can explore.
He produces male and female footwear. He is not deterred by the big names such as Nike, Adidas, Puma, Reebok, that are producing leather shoes, sandals, chappals and uppers in medium to large-scale units using modern and state-of-the-art technology.
He is taking advantage of the changing lifestyles of Nigerians and projected domestic demand for footwear to make money.
For William, the business environment has been tough for solo entrepreneurs.The other challenge is that the sector has matured from the level of manual footwear manufacturing methods to automated footwear manufacturing systems.
On the whole, he sees the possibility of the government using the leather industry as an engine for growth if there is support for more young entrepreneurs to be involved in bulk production of leather shoes and uppers for men and women.
William believes the footwear component industry has enormous opportunities for growth to cater to increasing production of footwear of various types, both for export and domestic market.
To grow the industry, he said the youth need equipment, and technical knowhow. He said shoe producers needs finance to buy the input such as leather, trimming and cutting machines, which are expensive because they are imported.
