Our footwear academy is impacting on youths worldwide – Gwom

Daniel Dung Gwom, the Managing Director and Principal Instructor at Jmofs Enterprises—a shoemaking company in Jos, is the winner of the recent Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) National Award in Leather Work. In this interview, he explains how his footwear academy is focused on training and empowering youths within and outside Nigeria and Africa, among other issues. Excerpts

You are into shoemaking and you own a company. Tell us how it all began.

We started Jmofs Enterprises in 2009 (it was eventually registered in 2018). Our journey however, can be traced back to 1995, when my brother Gyang Dung Gwom and I opted to start a shoe repair business. We saw a need, which was that most of the people within our community couldn’t always afford new shoes, so they needed to regularly repair the ones they had. That was our opportunity to provide cobbling services for about N1 to N3 then.

Since 2009, we have evolved from shoe repairs to making shoes, belts, wallets and bags which are largely bespoke. We envision going fully into fashion accessories. Our shoes, wallets and belts are made only from the finest leather, which ranges from calf skin, PU leather (Microfiber) and the likes, all locally sourced from within Nigeria and Africa. 

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How is the acceptance and patronage of your product as against imported or foreign shoes?

The impression that ‘anything foreign is better’ is a common challenge in developing economies. This is understandably because of poor funding, infrastructure (equipment) and technical expertise. However, the public is gradually evolving to accept that excellent products can be sourced locally. At Jmofs we have always ensured that our products are made to global standards, which earned us early acceptance from the public. This explains our growth over the years.     

How do you source your raw materials?

We currently source our materials largely within Jos and also from Kano, Aba, Lagos. We also order in few cases from outside the country. 

What are the distinguishable variables between your shoes and others in the market?

Every Jmofs pair is a product of careful research made with close attention to detail. We use materials suitable to the topography, climate and style of our customers. We have over the years maintained a global approach for all of our products, thus we are not comfortable with just being better than the next brand, we always strive to set the pace. Hence, we invest into being more creative in our products and the way we manage our system.  

How affordable are the shoes?

We target a segment of the market that appreciates quality and excellence, we regularly review our prices and work on improving the quality of our products to satisfy this market segment. A typical pair of Jmofs shoes ranges from N15,000 to N100,000 depending on its specifications. 

Is it only shoes you construct in your company?

At the moment yes, however, we are a total fashion brand that has its sights on bags, wallets, belts and also clothing. We are also building a higher institution of vocational learning through the Jmofs Footwear Academy which we launched in May 2022, where we intend to train an average of 2,000 people yearly. 

How many staff do you have?

We have two administrative staff, one sales staff and six production staff managing different parts of the business. Recruiting artisans proves to be a major challenge, since most of them would prefer to be self-employed than to work with someone else. However, our biggest challenge with regard to staffing is finance. 

Are you only in Plateau State?

Plateau State is our springboard. However, we have a plan that covers the entire geopolitical zones of the country and some countries around the world. We aim, like I have stated earlier, to set up a global structure, with physical stores, warehouses and training centres across the world, as well as build a very robust online presence leveraging on several online structures including the metaverse.

You are the son of Prof. & Mrs. J.Y. Dung Gwom. Tell us how instrumental your parents have been in your enterprise.

My parents have actually been very supportive. They have made the biggest investments so far in our business. They are actually the major contributors to our expansion. They provided the space for us to start initially, and have always been available to provide support to help us scale up, and that has helped us to have a good level of stability in our growth process. 

You are the winner of the recent Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) National Award in Leather Works. Tell us more about the awards.

I got to know about the award through a friend Mafeng Sele, who was also an award winner in 2020 for the Furniture and Woodworks category. He encouraged me to apply, considering what we do. I totally forgot about it until the week of the closing date for the application. I didn’t initially give so much thought to it, but then, it wouldn’t hurt to try. We sent in an entry and got nominated, and were further called for the award. Basically, that was it. There wasn’t anything extra that we did for it, but what we have been doing as a business are some of the things they considered for the award. Things such as the impact of your business to the society, and also how much participation your business has in building people.  

Apart from winning the car and other gift items, what other motivation and impact has the award had on your works generally?

Truly, this award gives us a sense of validation, a sense of affirmation. It’s a way of making us feel appreciated for the years of investments and building in silence and sometimes in the dark where no one sees you. It also gives us that sense of purpose and that extra fuel to our drive. It reminds us that we are on the right track and also tells us that whatever we’ve been doing in empowering people is something that the world sees and appreciates.

For us, our business is about empowering people and transforming lives. In our own sphere, we keep thriving to get better at delivering good results for people. We are also particular about being the best at delivering affordable, competent solution to people’s lives and seeing how they transform. 

Do you contemplate partnerships or exchange programmes with other foreign leather companies?

Partnership is something that we are open to. The truth is, we do not have all the expertise we need to fulfill the vision of our business. So, we’d love to partner with people, agencies, and businesses that we could leverage on their expertise, experience, exposure and structure to fulfill our vision.

What youth programme, empowerment or skill acquisition initiative do you have?

In May 2022, we started a Footwear Academy which is the arm of our business that is focused on training and empowering youths within and outside Nigeria and Africa. Interestingly, online, we’ve trained people from the US, India, South Africa, and over seven African countries. It is our way of ensuring that this skill that we have is not something we retain exclusively to ourselves, but finding ways to share with the world. 

How will you assess the federal and state government’s youth empowerment initiative?

I would like to say that the government is not lacking in initiative, the government has a lot of good agencies with the best intentions. The fact that some of us received this award is indicative that some of these agencies are functional. To be honest, I did not know anyone at the agency when I got the award, and there was nothing about the award that involved any kind of lobbying or money exchanging hands, there wasn’t anything of that sort, that I am aware of. This means that some of these agencies are working. However, I’d want government to ensure that these agencies are properly functional. One of the major challenges of small-scale businesses is funding and access to funding facilities, and there are government agencies that are set up to meet these needs. Some are; Development Bank of Nigeria; Bank of Industry; ITF; SMEDAN; and so many others, but only a few people have access to their facilities. 

Before the award, I had applied to several, and I never got any. It is in the interest of the government to invest in people like us who are doing something to build ourselves and our community, because we are some of the people that could help provide employment opportunities in our communities and help build the economy. 

What is your future projection?

We are building Jmofs to become a household brand, not just in Nigeria or Africa, but globally. We are passionate about building proper shoe industries across Africa. It is not just the brand in terms of the products that we make, but also building proper shoe industries, and that is why we have a footwear academy which we intend to eventually evolve into a fashion academy. Through that, we will strategically build our people and mentor them through the processes of building global brands, and that way, we will be able to build a viable economy across Africa.  

What is your advice to the youths?

Like I’ve always said, find a problem and solve it creatively. Nobody gets rewarded for complaining, or for giving up, or for getting frustrated, or simply because he has a certificate. We are in an era of development where your biggest rewards will come through what you can actually do. It is no longer the time for you to just say you have a degree in, let’s say Petrochemical Engineering, or anything of that sort. This is the era where what you need are useful skills. So, please, build your mental capacity through study and develop relevant skills, that is what will make you employable or self reliant.