Entrepreneur and founder of Oratile Kids, Tshepiso Monamodi, started her soft leather shoe business with just one sewing machine – which she did not know how to operate. Today, she supplies soft leather shoes for toddlers to Clicks.
Monamodi started the business in 2017 when she was looking for shoes for her son, leather soft ones that are very comfortable for babies, – the ones that don’t really interfere with the babies’ development when they learn how to walk. She could only find expensive ones. This is when she got the idea of maybe making a pair for her son, but the problem was that she could not sew at all.
Monamodi realised that this is achievable, but she didn’t want to do what everyone else was doing. She wanted the shoes to be authentic. With just one sewing machine, she learnt how to make the shoes and took her shoes to a few local markets and malls, and she gained more customers. Monamodi says she has learnt a lot about her customers and what their babies’ needs truly are. “A couple of years later, it’s really picking up,” said Monamodi.
Today, she supplies shoes to three Clicks Baby stores and has seen a 34% increase in sales since working with the retailer.
