African Leather and Leather Products Institute (ALLPI) calls for collaboration of Zimbabwe leather sector players

THE African Leather and Leather Products Institute (ALLPI) has called for collaboration of Zimbabwe leather sector players to address challenges such as poor quality and low capacity utilisation.

Speaking at the he Zimbabwe Leather Value Chain Stakeholders’ Workshop in Bulawayo on Thursday, ALLPI Executive Director, Mr Nicholas Mudungwe said development of the leather sector was critical.

“If we go to economic history, you will notice that all countries that have developed, that are now the first world, they use the leather and textile sectors to build a foundation for growth and development. So, if we cannot develop the leather and textile sectors as well as the clothing value chain, we will never have a foundation,” he said.

He called for revival and development of Zimbabwe’s leather sector as an industry that used to produce quality and exporting globally.

Mr Mudungwe said one of the most critical aspect that plays a key role in the revival of the leather sector was the players who have been in the sector for a while.

“The most important thing that is difficult to replace is the human element. The technology is absolute. I think most of the machines in the factories, some are more than 70 years old, but we are lucky that we still have people like who have been in the sector for a while as the brains. As you aware software is more important than the hardware, so let us utilise that software that is still available,” he said.

He said from a continental perspective, Africa holds 25 percent of the global potential of the leather value chain but only contributes 3 percent, meaning there was a loss of 22 percent, calling for the gap to be closed.

Mr Mudungwe said through collaboration, leather sector players could address access to finance issues by coming together as clusters.

He added: “Some people will cry about the past and say Zimbabwe’s industry was strong but it collapsed. For me, when I look at it, it’s an opportunity for leather players to own companies. As players you can transform something small to become bigger for the future generations. These are the issues that we should deliberate and address in this workshop. We need to come up with clear concrete activities that we want to implement so that we can transform the industry.”

Mr Mudungwe called for defining priority actions based on the Zimbabwe Leather Sector Strategy (2021–2030).

The two day workshop is running under the theme: “Strengthening Collaboration to Address Systemic Bottlenecks and Unlock Inclusive Growth in the Leather Value Chain” organised by the African Leather and Leather Products Institute (ALLPI).

ALLPI, previously known as COMESA/LLPI, was chartered in 1990, with the endorsement of 17 COMESA Heads of States.

The COMESA Council of Ministers in its Thirty-Seventh Meeting decided that starting from 1st January 2018 COMESA – Leather and Leather Products Institute to be rebranded as Africa Leather and Leather Products Institute (ALLPI).

ALLPI’s main Mandate is to support the development of the leather sector in the region, while it is headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Its membership encompasses ten countries, namely; Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is also working with Djibouti, DRC, Madagascar and Swaziland under Consultancy services and potential for them to become members in the near future.