"Deegbe is determined to put Ghana firmly on the map of luxury shoemaking: "Eventually people will not think of HTW and question it anymore -- people will think about it and think quality and think the most awesome brand coming out of Africa," he says." CNN
Made in Ghana: Luxury shoes put sparkle in your step
Dated: 9th April 2014
Every week, African Start-Up follows entrepreneurs in various countries across the continent to see how they are working to make their business dreams become reality.
"Impossible," a nearby shoeshine boy purposefully declared after being asked by Deegbe; later, at home, his friends were equally dismissive. "Everyone was convinced that these high-end shoes could not be made in Ghana," recalls Deegbe.
Everyone? Not exactly.
Despite not having any real knowledge about the shoe market, Deegbe, who was a banker at the time, decided to prove them all wrong and take on the world's leading shoe brands. Soon after, he teamed up with a friend and started Heel The World (HTW), a high-end shoemaking company based in Accra, Ghana.
That was in 2011, and one year later Deegbe quit his banking job to dedicate himself fully in his new ambitious venture.
"We started buying machines (and) brought them over to the house," says the young entrepreneur, who launched the company from his parents' garage. "We had no intentions of starting the factory in the house, but one thing led to another and we just had to start."
Currently, HTW has five full-time employees.
Wearing it with pride
Inside the HTW workshop, underneath fashion images hanging from its bright yellow walls, the startup's workers are busy cutting pieces of leather and gluing soles at their work stations.
The materials are imported from places like the United States and Italy but all shoes are crafted by hand here.
It's a meticulous task, one the HTF staff tend to perform while wearing their bespoke creations -- anything from retro brogues and elegant loafers to stylish dress slippers and eye-catching Oxfords.
"They want their friends to ask them, 'Where did you buy that?' and they say, 'no, we made it; we made it in a garage, in Accra, with our own hands,'" says Deegbe.
The company produces a wide variety of styles.
Convincing people
HTW, which currently has five full-time employees, has built a website to take orders and relies heavily on social media for marketing. Yet, one problem for some potential customers is the cost -- from between $200 to $400, the price would be limiting anywhere, let alone in Ghana, where many people are still hit by economic hardship despite the country's remarkable growth and record poverty reduction in recent years.
"That's an uphill challenge that we still face," says Deegbe. "It's because most of this stuff is imported," he explains.
"You have to convince people that these things can be made here and these things is worth all the money we are asking for," he adds.
Proving doubters wrong
HTW has also started producing accessories such as so-called "empowerment beads" -- these are handcrafted creations made of glass and brass that are designed to represent all the hard work that goes into reaching a goal.
It's something Deegbe has learned first-hand, having taken the challenge of launching HTW to demonstrate that a high-end shoe brand can be made in Ghana.
"The good things is we're all quite young in the company -- everyone's under 30 -- and we have a long time to prove people wrong," says Deegbe.
"Eventually people will not think of HTW and question it anymore -- people will think about it and think quality and think the most awesome brand coming out of Africa," he adds.
This pioneer of made-in-Ghana shoe brand truly deserves the accolade -and much success -they have paid their dues, but they mustn't 'rest on their laurels'!!!
CNN is an incredible platform, offering uber exposure --but that means ---the world will be watching and taking note (and some might be copying -welcome to the real world). Thus, its now time for team Heel the World to up their game, luxe-up their website, get stockists in London, NYC, Paris and SA --and keep their FB fan page up-to-date!!! But all in all -good luck to team Heel The World. x
For more info about Heel The World visit: http://htwshoes.com/site/
https://www.facebook.com/Heel.the.World.HTWhttp://instagram.com/htwshoes
P.S ---The Heel The World's write-up by CNN goes to show just how very important it is for the likes of bloggers/websites/Ghanaian media-rites (and beyond) like me to write about made-in-Ghana labels/services/goods!!!
We also need to be aware/understand that the world (because of the Internet/Social media) has gotten smaller -thus, one can no longer afford to limit oneself or brand or services et al1!! Also, it is imperative that Ghanaian media-folk start to add contact details to all articles -otherwise what is the point????
Note, this............"I will talk/write about you to big-up my own website/blog/newspaper but I won't bring business your way ---green eyed monster must stop --now!!!! Just saying...
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