Africa goes hell for leather
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| credit: UNIDO |
In Uganda, a strong blend of leather-making expertise and technology has spawned an exotic new product line: fishskin leather goods. After extensive research and development work at Gomba Fishing Industries in Jinja on Lake Victoria, Nile perch (Lates nilotica) fishskin waste has been produced in a wide range or hues and finishes to be fashioned into high-quality shoes, bags and other leather goods. Similar to crocodile skin in appearance, the inedible, oily fishskin was previously discarded by local fishermen. But, with technical assistance and equipment provided by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, UNIDO, a chain of complex tanning and dressing operations has yielded ample evidence of the new material's potential. The lure of the leather has caught the attention of manufacturers from South Africa, Japan and Italy. Perchskin pumps, sneakers, boots and bags by reputable designers in Italy have graced the pages of leading trade publications, and market reaction has been encouraging. On adding a fishskin variation to its line of Africa Look sandals, Kenya's Sana Shoes secured a promising export-market debut with a substantial trial order from a leading department store chain in Italy. In Uganda, Gomba is also intending to add value to its fishskin leather production by setting up a manufacturing facility which will ultimately specialize in fishskin products.
African shoes gain foothold
Fishskin fashion is not the only skin industry in Africa to be taking off - animal hides from Africa have previously accounted for less than 3% of the leather goods sold around the world. But, with training and assistance provided by UNIDO, manufacturers of African leather shoes have, in recent years, been able to make their imprint in a highly globalized and competitive industry. Training in shoe design and technology and provision of shoe production services from a specialized centre at Thika in Kenya has also enabled producers from a number of countries, including Kenya to benefit from its expertise and enter the export market. Founded under UNIDO's Leather programme, the Training and Production Centre for the Shoe Industry in Thika provides manufacturing and managerial skills but its emphasis and success lies in product quality and market viability. Effective links to suppliers and retailers are the backbone of the extensive development network which centres around the Thika facility and, after only four years, the Centre has been able to place US$110,000 worth of orders with European, Japanese and South African importers.
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| credit: UNIDO |
Trimmings such as natural beads, cowry shells, sisal weaves (kiondos) and ceramic jewel-like artefacts (kazuris) allow the exported sandals to retain the attraction of exotic traditions while appealing to contemporary tastes and an increasing preference for handcrafted goods and natural materials. But, just as importantly, the supply of these ornaments provides 200 local women with a regular source of income. On a more advanced level, more than 250 women have also been able to receive formal training at the Thika Centre, many of whom have progressed to become proprietors of their own businesses.
In the past, most African countries lost a significant source of potential revenue by exporting hides as raw and untanned leather. But Ethiopia, for instance, exports fine and pretanned leather worth over US$20m and, in southern Africa, Zimbabwe is the leading producer of leather with large industrial tanneries. Both countries have successfully entered the shoe market: two major shoe manufacturers (Ras Dashen and Kangarooy) in Ethiopia successfully export their goods to clients in Europe and the Middle East and Zimbabwe's Superior Footwear has tripled its turnover since 1995.
UNIDO has provided much of the development assistance over the last two decades for Africa's leather industries. The Organization's
Leather Programme in Eastern and Southern Africa is one of its largest and most complex undertakings, with a range of development partners and direct
beneficiaries in nine countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The successful development
partnerships established between UNIDO and the nine national leather industry associations, which are all members of the NGO, Eastern and Southern
Africa Leather Industries Association (ESALIA), has concluded in a US$1.4m contract with the Common Fund for Commodities to establish a single
leather grading system in the region. The potential for Africa to supply finished leather goods to industrialized countries is so great that, like
some countries in Asia and Latin America the trend could be reversed: Brazil, for instance, is making such a good profit from its leather industry
that it now imports raw leather and animal skins from the developed countries for processing, manufacturing and re-export as high value goods.
Email: acalabro@unido.org