Habib Lateef and Temidayo Akanmode are the co-founders of Tijo and Bibs, an Africa-inspired range of footwear such as easy-wear slippers and smart shoes and accessories – bags in Lagos metropolitan.
Habib was inspired by his love for shoes and desire to build a world-class shoe-manufacturing brand in Nigeria.
“The inspiration is pretty much from both of our interests in fashion. I am a shoe lover and Temidayo loves dresses. We both have a distinct interest in fashion pieces and how best can we show it? We started a fashion business,” he says.
Habib says his initial start-up capital was from his savings. “We both worked previously at different endeavors and about over N250,000 was our initial start-up capital.”
Since its establishment, Tijo and Bibs have emerged as one of the leading shoe-making and bagging firms in the Lagos metropolitan.
He notes that his business sources all its raw materials locally from the northern region of the country. Africa’s biggest economy has one of the best leather globally and exports to about 15 countries of the Economic Community of West African States such as Togo, Mali, Niger, Gambia, Burkina Faso, and Liberia, among others.
Tijo and Bibs is currently exporting some of its footwear and fashion accessories. “We export processed materials only for now, and we often work with the dollar rate to come up with prices.”
The business currently has four full-time employees. According to the young entrepreneur, Tijo and Bibs plans to expand its operations across the country and increase its fashion product offerings in the long run.
“We have big names we look up to and we know if we keep our standard high, we can surely get to that point too.”
It hasn’t always been rosy for the business as Habib states that the continuous surge in production costs owing to a combination of factors has remained a major hurdle for the business.
According to him, the high cost of raw materials and huge infrastructural gaps is impacting the business negatively.
In addressing the issue of surging input costs, he says the business has also continued to increase the prices for its products, adding that its customers have been receptive to it.
In responding to the question on how the country’s fresh costs of doing business crisis impact his business operations, he explains that the business is adjusting its operations in line with the new normal.
“We have been able to modify our operations so as not to be too affected by this, but we often have to make do with lesser profit because we are trying to not go overboard with our pricing and still deliver excellent service,” he says.
He added that the entrepreneurship landscape in the country has improved over the years but much more still needs to be done to enable businesses to survive and scale their operations.
“Oh definitely, it has improved and although it still needs a lot more, it’s better than before. We only hope to have a more enabling environment to foster growth.”
On his advice to other entrepreneurs, he says “Doing business is tough, but it’s doable. Also, partnerships are integral to growth, our growth at Tijo and Bibs is largely tied to the partnerships amongst the business owners and our customers.”
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