5 SA Entrepreneurs Who Have Taken The Shoe Industry By Storm
5 Entrepreneurs who have taken the shoe industry by storm. Locally manufactured products continue to thrive in today’s economy with more people engaging in the movement towards supporting local owned businesses.
Entrepreneurs are coming up with genius business ideas and making big money moves. Some of these business owners include the following shoe manufactures and brand owners who have carved credible names for themselves in the fashion industry;
1.Drip Footwear
Lekau Sehoana is the owner and founder of Drp Footwear. What started off as DIY shoe at home has now turned into a profitable multi-million rand shoe making business. Recycling is the company’s core mandate and reusing the same material is what they stand for.A cool fact about the DRIP merchandise is that they have created a system that allows a client to sell back an old shoe to them. This limits the chances of inappropriate discarding of the shoe which could consequently lead to pollution of the environment.
2.Bathu
Bathu is owned by Theo Baloyi, who is an ex-accountant having quit his job to pursue his slice of cake in the shoe industry. The accountant-turned-businessman has built a thriving sneaker business that sells the shoes online and already has five physical stores across South Africa. He built his sneaker business from his uncle’s back room in the township of Alexandra. The brand has grown into a well-recognized business with partnerships with big companies such as Opel and Sprite.
3.Vosk Shoes
Wesley Vos is passionate about giving back to the community and helping those less fortunate. His sneaker brand was established from a place of compassion and desire to have a positive impact. After studying and working for a short period, Wesley knew that money alone would never be enough hence the needed to make a living and make a difference at the same time, no matter how big or small. This led to the birth of Vosk which has a children’s drive ‘For every shoe purchased, a pair is donated to a child in need of a new pair’.
4.Ntenga Schools Shoes
Siya Ntenga is the owner of Ntenga School Shoes which has been branded the best school shoe brand that produces high quality, affordable, genuine leather school shoes. The businessman from Durban with a heart of gold has also has committed himself to donating school shoes to as many kids from disadvantaged homes as he can. He founded Ntenga’s School Shoes, which manufactures them from scratch in 2017.
5.Veldskoen
Veldskoen belongs to Digital Online Retail Products and Platform (DORP) together with, and co-founder of DORP Nick Dreyehas. The shoe brand has been an Iconic shoe of South African farmers for centuries known for their exceptional comfort and durability. Each pair is handmade in South Africa, cut and sewn from handpicked African rawhide leather making each shoe a unique one of a kind, following the precise design standards set forward from centuries of South African shoe making traditions.
