Ethiopia: leather shoe factory begins manufacturing
The first leather shoe factory in Gelan Town is waiting to be provided with electricity to begin manufacturing shoes exclusively for export.
The factory in Gelan, a town located 35km south of Addis Abeba on the Addis Abeba–Adama Road, was constructed on a 10,000 square metre area and estimates it will create 120 jobs upon becoming fully operational.
“The construction of the factory has been completed,” said Henok Debela, general manager of the factory named Suzo Industrial Plc. “All that is missing is electricity to commence production of up to 1,050 pairs of shoes daily.”
All the shoes will be exported to the US and Canada, according to Mr Debela.
Suzo Industrial, which obtained its investment licence in March 2008, is a joint venture: Mr Debela and Yared Leggese own 80% of the shares, while their Chinese counterparts own a 20% stake.
“The leather shoes to be produced will range from formal leather shoes to protective footwear and casual shoes,” said the general manger of the factory. “Of the raw material, 98% will be sourced locally while 2% will be imported for accessories.”
The machinery and technology to be used in the production are from Italy with the knitting component of the production coming from China, according to Mr Debela.
Suzo Industrial is not the first factory to obtain a licence for the production of leather shoes and garments in Gelan. No less than five other investors have received similar investment licences for this type of project.
Derje Gossaye and Aynalem Gebrehiwot have investment licences to manufacture leather shoes, Marema Ibrahim and Zelalem Lorenso are to produce leather garments, as well as Techno Wall Aluminium Plc which is licensed to manufacture leather goods.
