100 exhibitors showcase at African Leather Fair

Report say nearly 100 exhibitors
participated in the recently concluded 10th All African Leather Fair
(AALF) held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

 

The goal of the AALF is to create market
opportunities for leather products, link buyers and producers, promote
exports, as well as attract domestic and foreign investors to the
sector.

 

The exhibitors included local and
international organisations, representing all major tanners, footwear
and leather goods producers, and garment manufacturers displayed their
products at the Fair.

 

Companies from Burundi, Turkey, Brazil
and China as well as Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi and Zambia were
among those to attend the Fair.

 

AALF 2018 was organised in association
with the Leather Industry Development Institute (LIDI), Ethiopia; Africa
Leather and Leather Products Institute (AALPI), the United Nations
Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and
Ethiopian Leather Industries Association (ELIA).

 

In his opening remarks, ELIA Chairman
Tatek Yirga said: “The fair plays a central role in strengthening and
developing markets between Africa and the rest of the world.”

 

According to State Minister of Industry,
Bogale Feleke, “the forum would facilitate the conversion of the
enormous potential in the African leather sector to global business and
present credible solutions to the challenges affecting
the sector.”

 

In line with its mission for the sector,
SITA supported beneficiary tanners in East Africa to display their range
of processed leather as well as interact with potential new customers.

 

A total of eight SITA-supported participants attended the Fair, representing seven tanneries – from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

 

The SITA booth experienced a lot of
traffic with many enquiries on the products on display. Besides leather
industry stakeholders and the general public, the Ethiopian Minister of
Industry, H.E. Ambachew Mekonen, State Minister
of Industry, H.E. Bogale Feleke and Hon. Betty Maina, Principal
Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Co-operatives, Kenya, were
among the high-level delegates who visited the booth.

 

Mr. Fahd Feisal Bary, Director, Nakuru
Tanners Ltd with Mr. Yassin Awale, Senior Advisor Leather, Ministry of
Industry, Trade and Co-operatives, Kenya and H.E. Ms. Betty Maina,
Principal Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Trade
and Co-operatives, Kenya.

 

Ahead of the AALF, the SITA beneficiary
tanners visited Batu Tannery in Addis Ababa, and were received by
General Manager, Mr. Tatek Yirga who is also the Chairman of ELIA. The
visit proved beneficial for knowledge transfer –
in particular the exposure to the finished leather production
processes.

 

The delegation also visited Friendship
Tannery in Modjo, which provided further exposure to Ethiopian leather
production and opportunities for intra-African trade.

 

Commenting on the visit to tanneries, Mr.
Fahd Feisal Bary of Kenya’s Nakuru Tanners Ltd. said, ‘I’ve learnt a
lot about their products – how and what they produce, and where they
buy.’

 

‘It was very interesting for us to see
what Ethiopians are making, it is encouraging for us to move to finished
leather and also interesting to see regional influences,’ added Mr.
Saqib Munir, Athi River Tanneries, Kenya.

 

At the AALF, which took place from June
8-12, 2018, SITA organised a B2B meeting between Tanzanian, Kenyan and
Ugandan SITA beneficiary companies and their Ethiopian counterparts
along with ELIA and LIDI.

 

Several forthcoming linkages were also
established among SITA participants. For example, an agreement is in
progress between a SITA Mitreeki beneficiary and a shoe company in
Uganda for the transfer of knowledge and technology
for manufacturing shoes.

 

The former is currently engaged in
manufacturing leather goods and is looking to expand into shoes
production based on a demand from current customers. 

 

Following the agreement, she will join
the staff currently undergoing training in the Ugandan shoe factory to
gain the necessary knowledge and technology.

 

Further, discussions are underway between
an Indian shoe manufacturer and a Ugandan leather company for the
supply of a specific quality of leather for the production of leather
sole-bends as well as the technology to process
it.

 

Confident of manufacturing to the
required specification, the Ugandan company has agreed to make a sample
for quality verification.

 

In addition, the Indian shoe manufacturer
has also agreed to provide necessary training, at his factory in India,
for two staff working in a new shoe manufacturing facility in Kenya.

 

According to Mr. Niazali Hirani of Moshi
Leather Industries Limited, Tanzania, the Fair and tannery visits have
offered an enhanced understanding on best practices and technologies
used in Ethiopian tanneries as well as on current
market requirements. The Fair offered an excellent opportunity to
interact with relevant stakeholders from the industry, he said.

 

‘Ethiopian leather sector has done well
and offers key lessons in value addition. Other African countries can
succeed by following the Ethiopian model,’ Mr. Hirani remarked.