Femi Olayebi: Building a finished leather sector is our pathway to wealth creation

For over three decades, Femi Olayebi, Founder and Creative Director of FemiHandbags, has been a towering force in shaping the landscape of African luxury craftsmanship. Her uncompromising focus on structural governance, meticulous finishing, and institutional discipline famously led her premium leather brand to become an academic case study at the prestigious Lagos Business School (LBS).

As the visionary pioneer behind the Lagos Leather Fair (LLF), now entering its highly anticipated 9th edition under the strategic theme “Beyond the Hide: Scaling Value, Building Industry, Driving Growth” Olayebi has successfully transitioned from an individual brand builder into an ecosystem reformer. Through targeted capacity initiatives like Kafawa (a technical training partnership with the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works initiative) and her selection as a prestigious Legatum Foundry Fellow at MIT, she continues to spearhead the systemic formalisation of West Africa’s multi-billion Naira leather trade.

In this insightful interview with IFEOMA OKEKE-KORIEOCHA, Olayebi pulls back the curtain on why raw material exports keep African economies at the lowest end of the global supply chain. She outlines the precise technological deficits hampering local artisans, details how creative entrepreneurs can de-risk their records to unlock tier-1 commercial banking capital, and shares the invaluable governance lessons forged across 34 years of resilient, iterative bootstrapping.

With the 9th Lagos Leather Fair themed “Beyond the Hide: Scaling Value, Building Industry, Driving Growth,” what is the financial and structural gap between exporting raw hides and building a highly mechanized, finished-goods manufacturing sector domestically?

The difference is enormous. A raw hide exported from Nigeria captures only a fraction of its potential value. The real economic opportunity lies in processing that hide into finished leather and ultimately transforming it into products such as bags, footwear, upholstery, and accessories. Every stage of value addition creates jobs, generates revenue, and strengthens domestic industry.
The challenge is that manufacturing requires significant investment in machinery, power, infrastructure, skills development, quality control systems, logistics networks and market access. While exporting raw materials may seem easier, it keeps us at the lowest end of the value chain. Building a finished-goods sector is more demanding, but it is the pathway to industrial growth, wealth creation, and global competitiveness.

 Your business, FemiHandbags, famously became a case study at LBS. When you negotiate with tier-1 financial institutions such as Ecobank, what specific structural misalignments or risks do commercial banks typically see in local leather manufacturing, and how can MSMEs become truly bankable?

Many financial institutions view manufacturing MSMEs as high-risk because of inconsistent record-keeping, weak structures, irregular cash flow visibility, and limited collateral. To become bankable, small businesses must move beyond passion and embrace structure more intentionally. This means maintaining accurate financial records, separating personal and business finances, and developing realistic growth plans supported by data. Banks are more willing to support businesses that demonstrate transparency, discipline, and a clear understanding of their numbers. Good governance is no longer optional; it is a strategic asset.

Operating from your atelier in Ibadan, how are you insulating your margins from current macroeconomic headwinds without compromising on luxury positioning?

The answer lies in operating more efficiently, and staying true to our brand values. Rather than competing on price, we compete on quality and craftsmanship. We are continuously reviewing our production and operation processes to reduce waste, save energy, and strengthen local sourcing where possible. The simple truth is that the typical FH customer is willing to invest in products that offer authenticity, quality, and a strong emotional connection, so our focus remains on creating lasting value rather than chasing high volumes.

 Nine years into the LLF movement, are we seeing a measurable structural shift in domestic B2B supply chains, or do local designers still face severe barriers to acquiring high-grade finished local leather?

There has been meaningful progress. When Lagos Leather Fair began, many designers operated in isolation and had limited visibility into suppliers and manufacturers within the ecosystem. Today, there is significantly more collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and business-to-business engagement.
However, the challenges remain. Access to consistently finished, high-grade, export-quality local leather is still extremely limited, and the highly fragmented supply chain continues to affect production. What has improved exponentially is awareness and a growing desire for Made-in-Nigeria. More stakeholders are now however actively seeking solutions, and there is a stronger collective commitment to working on fixing the value chain. There is indeed some progress, but the work is far from complete.

What specific technological or mechanical deficits are keeping the average Nigerian leather artisan from achieving global export compliance standards?

Talent is not our biggest challenge; access to skills and technology is. Many artisans and designers are still working with basic equipment that limits consistency, speed, and finishing quality. Advanced skiving, splitting and stitching machines, finishing equipment, automated cutting systems and other specialised tools remain inaccessible for many small businesses.

Beyond machinery, there is also a massive gap in technical training on global production standards and quality assurance systems. International buyers expect consistency across hundreds of units; achieving that level of repeatability requires both skilled hands and modern equipment. We need greater investment in technical training centres and production facilities with highly skilled leather technicians.

Looking at countries that have successfully industrialized their leather ecosystems, what is the single most critical intervention the Nigerian public sector should prioritize right now?

If I had to choose one intervention, it would be the establishment of specialised manufacturing clusters with highly skilled personnel (artisans/machine operators, cutters, maintenance technicians, pattern and sample makers, production managers, quality control inspectors etc), and supported by reliable infrastructure. Successful leather-producing countries have created ecosystems where tanneries, manufacturers, suppliers, training institutions, logistics providers, and financiers operate within connected industrial hubs.

When businesses have access to stable power, water, modern machinery, training facilities and logistics networks, productivity improves dramatically. Individual entrepreneurs cannot solve infrastructure challenges on their own. Clusters such as mentioned earlier would reduce production costs, encourage investment, create jobs and accelerate the development of a globally competitive leather industry.

What does your 34-year history say about the power of slow, iterative bootstrapping?

My 34-year journey is proof that sustainable growth does not happen overnight. We live in a world that celebrates rapid success, but businesses that last are built through years of consistent effort, learning, adaptation, perseverance, resilience and sheer grit.
When I started, I did not have access to any form of capital, sophisticated infrastructure, or the most ideal working conditions. What I had was a commitment to keep showing up, keep learning, and keep improving. Every stage of growth has taught me the most invaluable lessons, and it is important that young entrepreneurs and creatives understand that progress is not measured by speed alone. Building patiently, developing competence, and creating real value can ultimately be far more powerful than chasing quick wins.