Beatrice Mwasi, secretary-general of Leather Apex Society of Kenya. FILE PHOTO | NMG Kenya’s leather industry is showing signs of growth with shoes and other leather products made locally finding their way to international markets. But the industry is grasping with challenges such as counterfeiting, low value addition and skills deficit.
Beatrice Mwasi, secretary-general of Leather Apex Society of Kenya, spoke to the Business Daily about what the umbrella industry lobby and other players are doing to increase the country’s share of the global market for leather.
The Kenyan market has accommodated footwear and bags branded as ‘genuine leather’ whose buyers end up disappointed due to their short lifespan. How has this adversely affected the leather subsector value chain?
It displaces legitimate business activity where leather product makers lose their market while consumers get substandard products. Counterfeiting leads to loss of potential tax revenue and loss of employment.
What efforts have stakeholders made to reverse this trend and improve the leather business?
The industry is working towards tabling a policy position paper on harmonisation of nomenclature, branding and traceability as a way of curbing counterfeits.
We successfully lobbied for the increase of import duty on finished leather products. This offers local manufacturers the much-needed cushion from being outcompeted by countries that highly subsidise their leather businesses.
The Leather Industry Network Project run by the Centre for Business Innovation and Training (CBiT) jointly with national leather associations in East Africa that is funded by GIZ-EAC, GFA Consulting Group and Africa Leather is creating new world-class products that local workers will cash in to win multi-billion shilling contracts with global retail chains.
We successfully lobbied for the increase of import duty on finished leather products.
What efforts are being made to enhance value addition?
The directive on ‘Buy Kenya, Build Kenya’ is a much welcome boost. To improve quality of products, Leather Apex facilitated the establishment of joint production units that will enable small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to enhance the quality of their products.We have also been networking with leather companies from the developed world and that has seen cobblers and other leather product makers gain new knowledge on product finishing, branding and marketing.Communities in Kenya’s arid and semi-Arid lands (Asals) heavily rely on cattle for their upkeep. Development of the leather sector can enhance economic inclusion for these pastoralist communities.Despite the large livestock population among the pastoral communities, value addition for hides and […]