Mai Jama’a Shoes Will Compete with Gucci, Clarke, Timberland in terms of Quality in the Future – Director, Wilfred Anike

One of the things classical ladies look out for in Men aside their faces, smiles, smell, voices, attitude and personality is their sense of dressing especially their footwear.
Wearing good shoes and dresses make one to stand out and noticed easily.

In this exclusive interview, Viewpoint Nigeria visited a Director of Mai Jama’a Shoes Limited and below are excerpts of the interaction.

VPN: Can we get to know you for the records?

Wilfred Anike: My Name is Wilfred Anike, a Director of Mai Jama’a Shoes Limited. I am a Diploma Holder in Political Science. Our Production Factory is located at Technology Incubation Centre Jos Behind Jos South Local Government Council Secretariat, Plateau State.

VPN: What is your Trade Name?

Wilfred Anike: My Trade Name is Mai Jama’a Shoes Limited. We inherited the Trade name from our Father.

VPN: Can you tell us how all of these started?

Wilfred Anike: The Shoe Cobbling is a family business and we inherited shoe making right from childhood. We were born into shoe making business considering the fact that our Father was a Cobbler and a Professional one at that. So we don’t want his great legacy to die, and that motivated us to develop and equip ourselves to take the business to greater height in terms of quality, quantity and service delivery.

VPN: You are Igbo, so how comes the name Mai Jama’a Shoes?

Wilfred Anike: My Father came about the name. I wasn’t born when the name came about as it was because of the diverse clients irrespective of tribe, ethnicity and religion our Dad had. My Dad attended to all those who wanted his services and most of his patronage came from the North, that was how the name came to existence. So his customers gave his business the name “Mai Jama’a” meaning “Man of the People” because he was meeting their shoe needs. So growing up, we learnt the work and equipped ourselves with the necessary skills and thought there was no need changing the existing name since many people are aware of the name and we have created massive goodwill and network of customers from the name.
My Dad is still alive and in one of our branches. He is still agile and working.
We are 7 in number and all boys. The Youngest is 22 doing his Bachelor Science in Nursing at the prestigious University of Jos. Though we all have our personal goals, we are all into shoe making business. This is a family business which we all learnt while growing up and we are proud of it as we are adding value to lives and developing other young persons who have interest in acquiring vocational skills.

VPN: We can see a lot of people around here, adults and children. Pls what are they doing?

Wilfred Anike: Some of the people you see here are our clients who are here to patronize us. They are either here to repair their shoes or buy the shoes we made here. Our services are excellent, exceptional and outstanding hence the influx of people.
The Children you see here are apprentices. They used to come after School Hours to learn before going home but on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, we created an avenue for them to learn instead of staying idle at home. They are here fully to acquire vocational skills before schools are reopened and they are doing well. Within six Months, some of them can now produce palm sandals for themselves and their loved ones. It is very great and I am really fulfilled seeing how fast they are learning and already knowing the business. I do feed them and transport them back home on work days. Their parents are our Clients and they have interest in what we are doing here.

VPN: From what we observed, you have various kinds of shoes, from Slippers to cover Shoes, boots, sandals etc, so how do you come about the design?

Wilfred Anike: We changed the pattern and system in which we make our shoes now. It comes more easier with the help of the internet as we download designs and even get tutorials to train the apprentices on designs to get them equipped. We get most of our designs from old shoes which are brought for us to repair. We try as much as possible to meet the desire of our clients in terms of quality. Most of our raw products are foreign but we manufacture locally here but still maintaining the quality and standard by using the right materials which are being used abroad. We also have access to raw materials of good standard.

VPN: How do you get your Raw Materials for production?

Wilfred Anike: We travel to Lagos and other industrial States to get what we use in production. We buy in large quantities and even sell to other people who need them.

VPN: What is your clients base like?

Wilfred Anike: We are based in Jos and our customers come from all across Nigeria as we market our products online now. Our core clients are schools, school pupils/children, military/paramilitary personnel, men, women and youths who love good shoes because we produce good products here. We also have outlets outside this production centre.

VPN: What stamp of quality do your products have?

Wilfred Anike: We produce quality products here. From our materials and the machines we use in the finishing of our products, our products are unique and of great quality. We don’t compromise quality and standards here. Our challenge is meeting the demands of our clients even in the face of high cost of production. We didn’t get these machines you see here at once, we follow trends and get what is best for production to maintain quality and standard.

VPN: As an Entrepreneur, what are some of the challenges you encounter?

Wilfred Anike: Our major challenge is cost of production and inadequate finance to do what we want to. But if I can get grant, it will help as most of the things we need to produce quality products are capital intensive.

VPN: Do you have any plan of expansion, where do you want to see Mai Jama’a Shoes in the future?

Wilfred Anike: We are working towards making Mai Jama’a Shoes Ltd a global brand. The level our Father has driven the business is encouraging as we inherited most of his clients, but we are thirsty to go global and with the internet I want to drive the market more by penetrating Nigeria, Africa and the World at large.
I want Mai Jama’a shoes to compete favorably well with Gucci, Clarke, Timberland etc in the future.

VPN: What is your staff strength?

Wilfred Anike: I have 5 Staff and 10 Apprentices including a Youth Corper. My Staff are my greatest Assets, they are contributing well to the business

VPN: What is you advice to the Youths?

Wilfred Anike: They should be hardworking, honest, have integrity, fear God and above all learn any vocational skill no matter their profession to remain relevant with the dynamic world. They should not wait for white collar jobs or political appointments that are not forthcoming, but try and learn a trade that will make them financially and economically independent. More importantly, they should not despise their days of little beginning.