Lesotho's leather processing fell into oblivion from the 1980s onwards. Now a dynamic duo is working to revive it and bring Lesotho back onto the world stage with a range of luxurious leather bags!
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00:00As Basotho increasingly reclaim their cultural heritage,
00:04how is this being expressed through increased employment opportunities and economic gains?
00:10We felt that the manufacturing industry, at least in the last few decades,
00:16has been fully owned by the foreign investors and we want to change the story.
00:22In the 1980s, artesian leather crafters in Basotho had a reputation
00:27for producing high-quality leather and sheepskin products that were exported worldwide.
00:33But increasing political turmoil through the 80s meant many expat-managed cooperatives,
00:38including Maluti Leather, shut down.
00:40With an established textile industry producing clothing for export,
00:44wouldn't this have been an easier option than leather?
00:47Of all the different aspects in the manufacturing industry,
00:53we picked leather for a number of reasons.
00:56One of the reasons being that starting a leather manufacturing facility,
01:03you can do it with a lesser capital as most of the machinery
01:07can do most of the work in the production process.
01:10Not only that, but having been exposed to a number of leather manufacturers,
01:16we had also seen the processes of manufacturing and we felt
01:19it's an easier entry into the manufacturing sector.
01:22As Masupa Moshoeshoe and Lebo Anamadzimane started their trial and error in production,
01:27they were simultaneously trying to re-establish those ancient supply and export chains,
01:33while slowly building a reputation for their quality product range.
01:38But their biggest challenge was not that easy to overcome.
01:41How did they manage?
01:43The journey has not been easy and some of the challenges that we have had to face
01:47and overcome has been market access.
01:50And I wouldn't say we've overcome it, but we have made some strides in it.
01:54So we had to work on our brand, Zeri Leather, a lot, use social media platforms,
02:00use boutique stores in Lesotho and outside, attend international trade fairs,
02:06just to find a way into penetrating our markets,
02:09be it the local market, the regional and even beyond.
02:14Lebo Ani and Masupa met at L'Héritage du Polytechnique in Lesotho
02:18and both went on to study in Durban, South Africa.
02:21Despite their degrees in surveying and electrical engineering,
02:24they both wanted to work in business, so a partnership made sense.
02:28But how did two very technical people manage to develop such a creative brand?
02:34With engineering background for myself and my business partner in quantity surveying,
02:39those fields, they are more towards creating stuff and building stuff.
02:45So moving to leather was more passion driven,
02:48but it was also still aligned to the fact that we love seeing things being done from scratch
02:54and coming up with something that people can marvel at.
02:57Leather is durable, and therefore leather goods can increase profitability.
03:02The customer receives a much higher quality product
03:05than that of local or regional competitors.
03:08Is this why Zeri Leather has been able to grow from humble beginnings
03:12to a new factory with a production capacity of 6,500 units per month?
03:18In our company, we have come up with a culture that we pay attention to detail.
03:24And as and when new members come, this is something that we've always instilled in them.
03:29That any product that leaves our floor, any product that leaves our facility,
03:34it's a statement that we're making out there.
03:36And in a way, in a way of protecting our brand,
03:41we cannot afford to take anything out of our facility that does not represent us.
03:46And we are grateful that we have had very few products in-house
03:49that we have had not to take them to the market.
03:52So our team has done a good job in terms of keeping the right quality of our products.
03:58While establishing Zeri Leather,
04:00they have constantly supported community-led initiatives
04:03while working with women and youth.
04:05They recently employed four people from a new crime prevention initiative.
04:10Ever since I've started working here, I have learned a lot.
04:14I have learned a lot.
04:15And I've managed to even be, to get an opportunity to be financially empowered.
04:21As a company, we have also realized the need for social responsibility.
04:26And we feel that you don't have to be so big to start engaging in such matters.
04:33And we've taken that responsibility upon ourselves.
04:36Personally, I have even managed to be a more patient person than I was.
04:41I get to interact with people, you know, communication,
04:47to try to see things from the same perspective.
04:50Masupa Moshoeshoe and Lebo Anamatsimani set out to create a pan-African brand,
04:55incorporating design and elements from across the continent.
05:00As Zeri Leather has exhibited all across the world,
05:03they are slowly carving a growing number of brand loyalists
05:07and bringing the Soto to the world, one bag at a time.