A female cobbler with a class, Oluwatosin started her business in 2020 with just N50,000 that was given to her by her aunty. She is now living her dreams as she designs and produces quality, stylish, and durable shoes for both men and women, including sandals, slippers slides and corporate footwear through her brand, Debbie Wears
By Eberechi Obinagwam
Otukoya Deborah Oluwatosin, a graduate of Accounting from Olabisi Onabanjo University, has an ambitious dream of reducing Nigeria’s dependence on imported shoes by making affordable yet high-quality local footwears.
A female cobbler with a class, Oluwatosin started her business in 2020 with just N50,000 that was given to her by her aunty. She is now living her dreams as she designs and produces quality, stylish, and durable shoes for both men and women, including sandals, slippers slides and corporate footwear through her brand, Debbie Wears.
Her brand is in high demand, traveling within and outside the state.
Background
In 2015, Oluwatosin enrolled in shoemaking during her final year in the university. She did it out of passion for creativity and craftsmanship. While speaking with TheNiche in an interview, she said she has always admired how a good pair of shoes can transform someone’s confidence and appearance. “I also wanted to create affordable yet high-quality footwear locally, reducing dependence on imported shoes and contributing to homegrown fashion,” she said.
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After training for 10 months, Oluwatosin came to stay with her family at Ijegun Ikotun in Lagos, where she started making beautiful slides for herself and families. Her pairs of beauty attracted neighbours, friends and families as she kept rising in mastery and profile. Soon, she started receiving orders and when she did, she would go to a family friend that had a workshop to do her jobs and get them delivered. She was doing so because she didn’t have space and enough material to set up her business.
But in 2020 while working as a hostel mistress in one of the renowned schools in Ikorodu, Lagos, when the world was thrown into chaos with COVID-19 lockdown, she started working from home. That working from home gave her the opportunity to take a bold step with the help of her aunty she was staying with.
“When the Covid-19 lockdown started, we were asked to continue our clerical work from home. While still working from home, my aunty told me that she did not like the job I was doing, that I should pursue my dream which was shoemaking and leather works. After a few thoughts on it, I agreed with her. She gave me N50,000 to start up my business. That was how I didn’t return to my paid job when the covid-19 lock-down was over. I started in one of her shops in Asese, Ogun State, after quitting my paid job,” she said.
Capital
The brand owner of Debbie Wears said capital was a major challenge for her at the beginning, but was able to play around it by engaging in lean production and reinvesting her profits. “I began with the contributions from my aunty. I also practiced lean production, producing according to order rather than stocking in bulk. Over time, I reinvested the profits into buying better tools, machines, and quality materials,” she said.
Marketplace
Oluwatosin spent two years, trying to penetrate the market with her products. According to her, competing with imported shoes and winning customers’ trust in a locally made product was not easy. “It took about one to two years of consistent quality delivery, word-of-mouth referrals, and online promotion before my brand started gaining real traction. Building credibility in terms of quality and timely delivery was key,” she said.
Losing a large batch of orders
Oluwatosin said losing a large batch of orders because of substandard materials was an experience she would never forget in a hurry. She said: ”I lost a large batch of orders because the materials I bought were substandard, and the shoes got damaged before delivery. I had to refund part of the payment and do everything again, which cost me time and money. That setback taught me the importance of quality control and reliable suppliers,” she reclled.
Breakthrough
A major breakthrough for Oluwatosin came when she got a bulk order from a church group for customized slides. She said the positive feedback and repeated orders that followed gave her the confidence that her business had real potential. “That experience motivated me to stay focused and aim for bigger opportunities”, she reminisced.
Running business in Nigeria
Running a business in Nigeria, Oluwatosin said comes with challenges such as high cost of materials due to inflation and import rates. She added unstable electricity, and limited access to affordable financing to the list of her challenges. Logistics, she said, can also be stressful because of bad roads and high delivery costs. Despite these hurdles, she tries to stay innovative and keep improving.
Japa
The brand owner of Debbie Wears said she believes that there is still a lot of potential in Nigeria. She said if younger people stay and build businesses, we can create jobs and reduce dependency on imports. “I am passionate about contributing to the growth of the local fashion industry and being an inspiration to other young entrepreneurs—showing that with determination, you can succeed here too”, she enthused.
About Oluwatosin
Otukoya Deborah Oluwatosin was born and raised in Lagos State. She studied Accounting at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State. She was trained in shoemaking at the Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Centre (WAPA), Isheri, under the Lagos State Government, which laid the foundation for her passion for footwear design and production.
In 2018, during her NYSC, she did a program involving women empowerment on shoemaking in Tudun Wada LGA Kano State, where she impacted women her skills.
Oluwatosin has also been invited for exhibitions and training.
