Enterprise

How young shoemaker defied rejection

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A shoe made by Shadrack Oduor. PHOTO | COURTESY

For young people growing up in Nairobi’s slums, life can be gruelling, but a few see the dream of escaping this tough environment come true.

One such person is Shadrack Oduor, a 24-year-old student of engineering at a German university who discovered that he could be what he wanted to be—an entrepreneur.

The budding entrepreneur is currently in the business of making and selling men’s shoes besides running a clothes enterprise. Mr Oduor says that getting to where he is has taken patience, persistence and commitment.

Born and brought up in Kiambiu slum, in Kamukunji Constituency Nairobi, his inspiring tale is that of ambition. After clearing Form Six in Nile High School, Uganda, where he had gone to study on sponsorship, Mr Oduor came back and started looking for a job like any other young person.

“I went looking for a job in an exhibition, but I could not be employed because I was not of the right tribe. I felt so bad and it really challenged me to become an employer and from that time onwards, I made a promise to myself that I would work hard to achieve my goal,” he says.

The year was 2011 and he had some mitumba sweaters in the house which he used to sell in the neighbourhood. Business was slow and he thought making the sweaters more attractive would increase sales.

“I would change the buttons to more appealing ones, say gold in colour, or stitch sections of the sweaters in a more creative manner,” he says.

His collage sweaters quickly became popular among his clients. Then the quest to grow in art and enterprise hit him.

He sought to be trained by a professional on how to make trench coats, but the fee he demanded was too high for him. He could not afford the Sh2,000 the trainer who had met in town demanded from him. But somehow, he learnt the basics without paying a single cent by just watching him do it.

When he made his first trench coat after one month, he was not impressed.

“It was poorly done, it looked ugly and I was not amused. I made it and sold it for Sh1,500,” he said.

But, practice makes perfect, and he slowly improved his design skills. With the little profit he made, he rented a machine at night to make khaki trench coats.

That was three years ago. Today, Mr Oduor designs, and makes men’s shoes from local and imported raw materials besides selling trench coats and other clothes.

Mr Oduor got a scholarship to study a degree in electrical and electronic engineering in the University of Leipzig Germany in 2012 after scoring high marks in his Form Six examinations.

“When I got the scholarship it was either I close down my shop, but I decided not to close it because I struggled to open it,” he said.

He employed several workers who run the shops for him and update him frequently on the ongoings of the business. In Germany, he got interested in the art of making shoes.

“I learnt of a place where people were being taught to make shoes, I got interested and enrolled,” he said.

He started going to the shoemaking classes during his free time. With knowledge of the European and Kenyan markets, he started making customised shoes for his clients in Kenya and Uganda.

With a capital of Sh50,000, which he acquired from accumulated profits from his other businesses, he started the venture. He acquired shoemaking molds and the materials needed. Since he started the business of making shoes last year September, he makes them from the house in Germany during his free time, and carries them home (Kenya) when he comes visiting.

He recently opened three shops along Nairobi’s Moi Avenue to sell and distribute the shoes, in addition to selling imported menswear and trench coats.

He makes the shoes on order and the buying price per pair depends on the material used.

On a good day, he makes an average of Sh19,000 from the shoes through deliveries alone, averaging to Sh570,000 per month.
He attributes his success in entrepreneurship to social media and word of mouth.

He opened the Facebook page ‘The Oloo Collections (Kenya’s cheapest trench coat and khaki) where he posts new arrivals and products. The page has attracted 92,000 likes.

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