NANCY CHIDEBE: The Passionate Lady Shoemaker

-Decries Preference for Foreign Good

-Wants to Rule the World

You have seen many a number of men who make their living from producing shoes and other allied leather products. Most of the men in the business of shoemaking are allover Aba, Abia State and at Onitsha, Anambra State, the two major commercial cities in the eastern part of Nigeria.

However, in the bustling town of Ekwulobia, Anambra State, is a young lady who is quietly but steadily carving a niche for herself as far as shoemaking and allied leather works are concerned. Her name is Nancy Chidebe, the brain behind NANCY SHOECRAFT LEATHER WORKS.

Nancy who is a graduate of Office Technology and Management from the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, and a member of Chartered Institute of Entrepreneurs, Nigeria, prefers to introduce herself as the founder and principal designer of NANCYSHOECRAFT LEATHERWORK, a footwear production and business outfit in Ekwulobia, Anambra state. She said she is not ashamed to introduce herself as a shoemaker.

For Nancy, a mother of one, shoemaking is more than a business, it is a passion driven by to deliver the best at not just a reasonable price but at an affordable rate. According to her, I derive pleasure designing and creating new things and that is what led me into the trade of craftsmanship”.

Indeed, the lady shoemaker crafts out foot wears and other leather products that are a beauty to behold. And the prices does not scare people away as she produces and sell both wholesale and retail quality and bespoke footwear and leather belt for different social strata.

How did it all start and why shoemaking of all trade for a woman?  She explained it all started during her compulsory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) service year in Lagos State.

Going back memory Lane, the lady shoemaker said it was her passion to create and design things that made her go into shoemaking. When I saw the opportunity, I did not hesitate to jump into it and so far, I have no regrets opting to make a living through shoe production and other leather works.

” From my childhood days, I have always had a flair for designing things and immediately after my national service, into look back or have double mind about producing footwears for a living”, Nancy further explained.

So how did you takeoff in the business and why Ekwuluobia of all places? Her response is quick.  “I did not start big, I encountered financial challenge as a start up but I was determined to succeed”. She said she choose Ekwuluobia first, that is her area and secondly because with technology, one can operate from any part of the globe. And true to her words, Nancy shoes are shipped to any part of the world. All one needs to do is to place your orders and the products are shipped to you. 

She said that one of my mission is to give people the best quality products at the best possible price. Today, her products grace the feet of people cut across the social strata in the society. From topflight business executives to politicians, the clergy, diverse professionals, the working class and well as students.

Her words: We have many customers within and outside the shores of Nigeria who cut across people from all walks of life. From government officials to business men, academics, clergy and a common man. This is because we produce shoes for people of all levels having in mind that there are people of various financial attainments in the society”.

At the onset of the business, it was a tough call for her products to be acceptable to Nigerians. But today, the story is changing. She noted that “at the onset, we had great challenge selling because Nigerians tends to prefer foreign products while looking down on our locally made. It took a great deal convincing customers for patronage but once they manage to buy, a trial always convince them and the quality of our products make them insist that it is NANCYSHOECRAFT or nothing else” 

She expressed great excitement that her products “are gradually penetrating the market with our standard quality, stressing that “our products have stood the test of time, and people that has used it will always recommend us to their friends, colleagues and associates”.

According to her,”my dream is to get to a level where people of all background and level in the society will come into my fashion mall and find foot wears fit for them, no matter the quality they prefer to wear”.

However, Nancy, like other operators in the Nigerian economy has her own challenges. For her, “our major challenges are lack of machinery and adequate funds to expand our operations and meet the demand of our growing clientele”.

“As at today, we still do not have all the equipment and machineries we need for smooth and easy production, so some of the things that machine could do in the process, we execute them manually, production functions of things like pressing, lasting and some others”, she continued.

Her other challenge is the general Nigerian penchant for the preference of anything and everything foreign. She regretted the notion that anything locally produced including footwear are inferior or substandard when compared to imported ones.

She therefore urged Nigerians to be proud of locally produced goods and support local production so as to grow the local economy. 

As part of her efforts to encourage more women to join her in the business of shoemaking, Nancy has set up a Shoe Academy and has since taken  off training young men and women interested in making a career in shoemaking. According to her, more female are now engaging in the business and she is happy at the development.

The chief executive officer of NANCYSHOECRAFT said her enterprise is yet to receive any form of financial aid grant or loan from either the state or federal government. She said that government can come to their assistance by way of funding through grants or soft loans. Government and other well placed individuals can also help through the sponsorship of Mentorship programmes. According to her, such training programmes would also help young entrepreneur in mastering their different line of trade.

According to her, “If we have the right sponsorship, we will get the kind of industrial machines that will make our work more efficient and our products even better. As at today, we still do not have all the equipment and machineries we need for smooth and easy production”.

Sh urged the government at all levels to initiate measures to encourage patronage of local products. She expressed strong optimism that “We are looking at growing to a stage where Nancyshoecraft would be fashion home for all kinds of footwear and exporting to other countries”.

She advised my Nigerian youths “to find a niche around them, feel it and make money out of it. You do not need to wait for employment when you can employ yourself. Put aside your degree and certificates and make efforts to employ yourself. 

 Her final words to those who are aspiring to change their stories; “do not wait to have all the funds. If you cannot afford to start big, start something small and start today”.