An innovative approach to reviving the fortunes of South Africa’s footwear industry has been taken in KwaZulu-Natal province, where a redundant warehouse is to be selected for conversion into six manufacturing units, each owned by a trained cobbler.

Financed by the South Africa’s Provincial Economic Affairs and Tourism department, the project is seen as a vital first step towards encouraging new investment in the country’s shoe industry, which has been badly hit by cheap imports from India. It is envisaged that the cobblers will be drawn from the large pool of skilled footwear workers that are currently out of work and that ultimately, over 250 new jobs will be created through the initiative.

Though each unit will produce its own particular style of shoe, their combined output will be marketed as a single brand, with all administration being handled by an umbrella organisation. To allow quality standards to be brought up to international standards before being rolled out to export markets, sales will initially be restricted to the domestic marketplace, with an important objective in the medium to long term being the attainment of the international quality standard ISO 9000. Once this is in place, exports to key European markets such as the UK and Germany will follow.

Speaking to the national press, Tim Taylor, the director of a firm of a consultants which has been closely involved in getting the concept off the ground, said the factory was viewed very much as a model for further similar enterprises and that he expected it to result in opportunities for outsourced work, such as hand lacing on moccasin slippers.