Young Ghanaian entrepreneur builds footwear company with a difference

Ghanaian Mabel Suglo (21) , the young social entrepreneur behind EcoShoes, that employs people with disabilities to manufacture high quality shoes and accessories from discarded tyres and recycled materials, in  Kumasi.

She started  in 2013 at 19, and two years later has been named the 2015 second runner up of the Anzisha Prize, Africa’s premier award for young entrepreneurs. The award came with a $12,500 injection into her company.

 The idea behind EcoShoes was inspired by her grandmother, who suffered from severe leprosy, With deformities around the hands and feet, her grandmother had only one thumb. My grandmother actually used to wear bits of old car tyres for shoes because she had no toes and no shoes could fit her feet… So she just took a car tyre, cut it into short pieces and tied it with a rope and it worked well and that initiated the echshoes business.

She later  found two business partners who assisted her idea  off the ground, and partnered with a local school for the disabled who trained those with disabilities how to make shoes from old tyres and local fabrics. Each pair is unique and sold through a small distribution network to various retailers across four regions in Ghana. She is  developing the company’s e-commerce site to target a wider market.

 “One thing I know about most successful people is they never really got it right at the first go. They had to try over and over and over again"

Young women could take a cue from this enterprising lady and not to be taking to the streets, bravo 

Source: http://www.africanbusinessreview.co.za/leadership/2262/Young-Ghanaian-entrepreneur-builds-footwear-company-with-a-difference