Man Who Dropped Out of University Goes Into Shoemaking, Becomes Successful
When a Nigerian man dropped out of the university in 2014, he did not just stay idle waiting for manna to fall from heaven for him. He made efforts to learn two skills, bagmaking and shoemaking.
He ended up settling for shoemaking, and his efforts have paid off because he has become successful in the Nigerian shoemaking space. Prince Sunday Achase has won N100k after taking up a shoemaking challenge thrown open by a fellow shoemaker, Nelson.
Source: TikTok
When Prince Sunday Achase could not keep up with the financial demands of university education, he decided to quit schooling. He took the decision in 2014, but he did not just give up the hope of making something meaningful out of his life.
The native of Okrika, Rivers state, started thinking of a skill he would learn. He started with bagmaking, but he later switched to shoemaking.
He told Legit.ng:
"My name is Prince Sunday Achase. I'm a native of Okrika. I was born into a family of two. Actually also a polygamous family. My dad got a second wife. My mum has two kids. I was born and brought up here in Port Harcourt. I actually dropped out of school in 2014. I was a student at the University of Science and Technology. I was studying mechanical engineering at the time. I could not keep up with school fees and the whole money and everything. I did not have any skill whatsoever or a job. So, I had to drop out. And when I dropped out, I was like, 'okay, what am I going to do?' I didn't just want to stay at home, so I decided to go into shoemaking."
See a video of Achase in his shop below:
School dropout starts shoemaking company
Achase, who is now the owner of a shoemaking company called AkpakaNG said he left bagmaking because he realised shoemaking was more in demand.
Achase said there were more people wearing shoes and demanding for it than bags. He noted that so far as there is a good shoemaker, there will be people to patronise the products.
He told Legit.ng:
"When I dropped out, I went into skills. I actually learnt Ankara and bag-making. But the market is not very big, like in terms of people will start ordering ankara bags anyhow. So, I decided to go into leather works. So, that was how I found shoemaking in 2016. So, that was how I got into shoemaking in 2016."
Another reason Achase went into shoemaking was that it gave him the opportunity to create new designs.
He said he was able to freely create something new, deploying his creative ability without being controlled by anyone.
Achase said shoemaking also gave him the ability to create jobs for others in the industry.
His words:
"I started in front of my house. That was when I started joining shoes. I actually love shoes because it allows me to be creative. It allows me to just do my thing. And secondly, I saw it as an opportunity to create jobs for people also. It gives me that opportunity to create things and create jobs."
Achase wins award as a shoemaker
Since delving into the world of shoemaking, Achase has made many giant strides in a relatively short while.
Apart from being able to build a profitable business despite his difficult start, he has also won awards. For instance, he has participated in the Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises competition and came second.
He told Legit.ng how it happened:
"I was nominated through someone, a customer actually. He said he loved my jobs and everything. So, he actually suggested me to the MSME awards and they asked me to submit a video, which I did. So, we got to Abuja, we met with the vice president, Yemi Osinbajo at the time. It's an MSME awards and it was made to foster micro, small and medium enterprises in the country. So, they were to select from the videos. There were about 12,270 participants in that challenge and they selected the few of us through our videos to see what we can create as Nigerian youths. So, at the end of the day, I came out second place. We were about five shoemakers or so that made it to the final level. The Sheomaker Academy came out first place. It was a contest to win N1.5 million and a car. Although, there was no provision for like second place or so. It was just to come and exhibit, but then at the end of the day, that day of the events at Aso Villa, ex-vice president Osinbajo said they should give us N300,000. But basically, that was just it."
Achase says there is money in shoemaking
When asked if there is money in shoemaking, Achase said there was real money in it so far as the shoemaker is skilled.
He emphasised that the first thing was for one to know the job so well that it becomes easy for people to patronise your products.
Achase said what makes shoemaking a good skill to learn is that people wear shoes every day.
He stated:
"Sheomaking is really a lucrative business. I mean there is money in shoemaking. But that's if you skilled up to this level that we are to an extent. As the year started, we put in about N10 million into the business, although we have not started reaping the fruits, but you know it's an investment you will definitely see. You can't lose your money. Because people wear shoes on the regular. Leather and leather works is used for so many things. And if you know what you are doing, you will definitely scale through. Most times, I urge people to look into leather works, because the bigger the industry, then the bigger our chances are of exporting and which is going to increase our GDP as a country."
Source: TikTok
Starting a shoemaking business in Nigeria
However, Achase said shoemaking could be expensive to start if one wants to do it in a big way. He added that it was also simple to start for a shoemaker who is struggling or just coming into the business.
He noted that he started in his house because, at the time, he could not afford to rent a shop.
The shoemaker stated:
"The shoemaking business is quite expensive, but if you are a young youth that is just trying to start up something, you can start small, anyways. Let's say, with a minimum of N100k, if you have a space. You can start it from your house. I started from my house. I started from my palour. Shoemaking is one business that you can start without capital. If people know that you can make it, they will give you your first capital which you can use to make the product and then you collect your gain. So, you can even save your gain and collect capitals if anybody is ordering anything from you, they will need to deposit to show commitment. That is where you make their jobs with their money and still collect your profit. But that's one thing with the shoemaking business. But if you say you want to scale up, it's a whole lot of money still. Let's say with as little as N50,000, that one is for filing machine. Once you have a filing machine, every other thing you can navigate."
Achase sends message to Nigerian graduates
Achase, who operates from Eastern Bypass, Ogbunabali, Port Harcourt, has a message for people who are graduates but who do not have something doing.
He said every graduate out there needs to quickly learn a skill to make a living. He noted that learning a skill and taking it seriously was important for one to succeed in Nigeria.
Achase told Legit.ng:
"My advice to the graduates out there is that they should get a skill. And not just acquiring the skill, we should look for a way and skill up. Not just doing it as a petty skill that you are trying to survive with it. There is money in being a skilled man if you know what you are doing and, like I said, you have invested the appropriate time and money to build yourself. There is money. So, my advice to graduates is to get a skill and take it more seriously."
Lady goes viral due to her shoemaking skills
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that a Nigerian lady who is a shoemaker trended on TikTok after she showed people one of the shoes she made.
She shared a video and said people often tell her that her products were of international standards, and many followers agreed with her.
A lot of people in her comment section even indicated an interest in buying shoes from her because she is good at what she does.
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Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
Israel Usulor (Human-Interest editor) Israel Usulor is a journalist who has 9 years of experience. He worked at The Prime Newspaper and has published articles in TheCable Newspaper. Israel graduated with distinction from Fidei Polytechnic (Mass Commun, 2016). Israel has interviewed Zannah Mustapha, the man who helped negotiate the release of Chibok Girls, and Kunle Adeyanju, who rode a bike from London to Lagos. He covered exclusive stories on Chef Dami during her Guinness World Records cookathon. Email: israel.usulor@corp.legit.ng.
Nkem Ikeke (Copy editor) Nkem Ikeke is currently a copy editor who also writes for the politics and current affairs desk on weekends. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (2010), and has over 10 years of work experience in the media industry (Reporter, News Agency of Nigeria). Email: n.ikeke@corp.legit.ng
