Inga Atelier Founder Inga Gubeka Shares The Difficulties Of Manufacturing Locally Amid Drip And Bathu Criticism
Inga Atelier Founder Inga Gubeka Shares The Difficulties Of Manufacturing Locally Amid Drip And Bathu Criticism. Drip and Bathu Footwear have been at the forefront of black owned sneaker brands that are thriving and creating employment for people in South Africa. However they have recently come under fire for their business operations, as they do not manufacture their products locally but are shipped from countries such as China.
Inga Atelier Founder Inga Gubeka took to Twitter to share some of the difficulties that entrepreneurs can face when they choose to manufacture their products locally. The post read, “I manufacture locally, I can tell you it is very challenging. Power is one big problem then we have unreasonable trade unions.” Gubeka also shared what companies like Drip and Bathu need in order for them to manufacture their products locally, he said, “For brands like Drip and Bathu, Manufacturing locally will require government assistance in a form of grants, they can’t do it by them selves. Setting manufacturing plant of that scale is a different ball game.”
Manufacturing products locally and having ownership of the value chain of the business is very important when creating businesses that seek to make a massive impact in society as this will provide more opportunities for local people, it will also keep the money circulating in the economy. Even though this is the case, manufacturing locally is very expensive as more resources are needed in order to make a large enough number of products that will be able to sustain the business. Entrepreneurs should have a well thought out plan on what needs to be done and their finances in order for them to manufacture locally.
With the way entrepreneurs in the country struggle to get capital start their business, it is not fair to look to them to build manufacturing plants in their early stages of getting success, as the challenges that Gubeka mentioned will only halt their progress to reach the level where they can manufacture locally. Manufacturing locally should however be the long term plan as the business would be big enough to handle the finances and resources required to manufacture locally.
