How Afrocentricity fuelling Nigerian leather boom

When it comes to leather, Nigeria is a major player on the global market. Between 2010 and 2022, more than 40 million goat and sheep skins valued up to $800 million, were exported annually to global fashion designers to make shoes, handbags, and other leather products accessories. Now young homegrown Nigerian designers are competing for this supply and redefining the industry in the process.

CNN visits Broll Mushin market to explore how this boom in the leather market is fuelled by Afrocentricity. CNN hears from Victoria Ezenachukwu, the Creative Director of Khal Designs, alongside other key voices in the leather industry, about their growth and how to stay  sustainable.

Victoria Ezenachukwu tells CNN, “The demand for African related items has really improved my business because a lot of Nigerians in diaspora do not have access to a lot of African stuff over there. Like shoes with isi agu or cowries. I get a lot of demands on that, and it has been my major sale point.”

Through their designs, Khal Designs and other new brands, are actively challenging stereotypes about Nigerian products. Delarin Osiberu, the CEO of House of Lareeyn, explains, “When I came into the leather industry, what I noticed was the generalized idea of what a Nigerian made product should look like. I made up my mind that my products do not look like that. You shouldn’t see my bags, And I say, oh, it’s Nigerian made? I would really, really love to change that perspective.”

The increased competition has also driven established designers to rethink their leather offerings. The founder and director of Morin. O Designs, Morin Obaweya, says, “The approach of younger designers in the craft, they are very dynamic, they’re very edgy, they’re very Avant Garde. It pushes us to always use technology to look at markets that are emerging, to look at trends that are emerging to be futuristic in looking at our designs and looking at the numbers determining where our markets are, where they’re going to be in the next few years, it kind of just keeps us on our toes.”

He continues, “They’re very consciously aware of their environment, the times they’re in, they’re conversant with current initiatives and ways of thinking circular economy, green economy and all that. It makes them very cutting edge, which is very commendable. They are IT savvy, and it gives the opportunity for their businesses to accelerate at a very fast rate.”

Nigeria’s National Centre for Technology management recently said the country’s leather industry generates between $600 to $800 million annually and has the potential to generate $1 billion by 2025.

Obaweya discusses how Morin. O Designs are unlocking sustainable growth in the leather industry, “We do informal mentorship, we plan a structured approach whereby we can set up something that a couple of those designers would have an inroad to see how Morin.O has gone through the years in the industry. We are affiliated with a couple of other initiators, for example, the Lagos Leather Fair, whereby there’s a coming together of both, emerging as well, as established designers in the industry.”

Ezenachukwu ends the episode with a look at how far her and her leather-based designs, have come, “in the beginning, what I was doing was trying to convince them that my product is good. So, my revenue back then, I could say in a month, I could barely make 20 to 30,000 in one month. I’m talking about three years ago, four years ago. But I gave myself one year to overcome that I did a lot of online training, improvement on myself and you know, continuous work and consistency helped the whole team improve. As of last year, I was making about 100 K monthly. But that this year in one good week, I can make 200 there in one good week.”

This article is extracted from a recent episode of Marketplace Africa by CNN.

Marketplace Africa airs on CNN International at the following times:

Sunday 27th October 2024 at 0330 WAT, 0630 WAT, 1730 WAT

Monday 28th October 2024 at 0330 WAT

Friday 1st November at 1745 WAT