Sedimo told Business Monitor that he started his business repairing shoes in the backyard of his parents’ home in Francistown. “I used to get piece jobs and used the money I was paid to buy the materials to start my business. The clients kept rolling in. Most wanted to repair their shoes. I had to redo some of these shoes, which unearthed another talent in me. I then developed an interest in manufacturing shoes,” he said. Sedimo then channelled his energy into making sandals and was surprised that people were impressed with the outcome.
He then approached the Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sport, and Culture to get funding and was successfully granted P50,000 under the Youth Development Fund.
He used the money to buy the required equipment needed to start manufacturing of shoes, handbags, and all the leather products. “There was an Indian man who owned a shop in Francistown who really supported me. He used to bring shoes for me to repair and was one of the people who bought my products. To date I still supply him with the shoes he sells in his shop,” he said. As the demand was growing, he then approached Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) in 2015, looking for space to operate, they then referred him to the Gaborone office. LEA was also instrumental in monitoring his progress and has finally allocated him some space at the Pilane incubator.
Currently Sputla Leather Works does all the upholstery ranging from all types of shoes, bags, car seat covers, sofas to mention but a few. Even though he produces according to the orders, he can produce 200 shoes per month. His clientele is mostly individuals, some buy to resell. “I have approached retail shops locally but our discussions were not successful.
I am willing to knock on their doors again until I get an offer,” he said. Touching on the challenges, Sedimo said sourcing material from a neighbouring country is pricey as he has to pay charges at the border. He also is having trouble marketing his products as he cannot afford to do his marketing campaigns. “I usually market my business on social media and normally distribute flyers and pamphlets. I know this is not enough. I need to raise funds for my marketing campaign. I cannot even afford to employ people full time and I usually operated with casuals,” he said. Going forward he plans to grow his business status from small to medium as he has plans to start selling to the international market. He said the industry is not yet saturated and the competition is also healthy.
