“Companies die but dreams don’t”; these words can be used to sum up the entire flourishing existence of Fred Deegbe Jr.’s idea to “Heel the World”
Heel the world is a luxury leather lifestyle brand that specialises in bespoke, handmade shoes and leather accessories. They also work to empower Ghanaian start-up companies.
When 29-year-old former banker Fred Deegbe Jr. decided to introduce Ghanaian footwear brand that would compete on the global market, the initial reaction from friends were “impossible”. Now “Heel the World” has grown in leaps and bounds to become a globally recognised trademark.
“I realised that Ghanaians like the best things in life, so I decided to come up with a brand from Ghana that would compete with Louis Vuitton, Prada etc. I knew if we matched and surpassed their quality a lot of people around the world would by it, even Africans”, he said.
Now the company not only produces handmade bespoke leather shoes specially designed for their customers but also produces custom tailored leather cell phone cases, laptop cases, bags, wallets and cheque book covers as well as taking orders from corporate bodies to design and manufacture one of a kind souvenirs.
The luxury leather lifestyle brand won an award from President John Dramani Mahama in 2012 for being the best young fashion company in Ghana. This achievement, though great, has not stopped them from reaching for the sky. They have gone on to become members of the World Economic Forum, African Leadership Network, featured on DSTV and MTV, and most recently were covered on CNN African Startups.
“If that was our goal, we would have folded up by now however we are not even at five percent of where we want to be,” Fred said.
The Ashesi University alumnus first got the idea of starting a business in Ghana when he was approached by another guy who sold handmade t-shirts.
“During my final semester, a guy came to the school selling really nice hand-made t-shirts. And that is where I got my first concept of making something in Ghana that could go global”
In 2006, he started Manufactured in Ghana (MIG); a business that created handmade t-shirts, “I tried that for a few years and it became reasonably popular. However I later gave up on the company in 2009 because I didn’t have enough money and the designs could easily be copied”.
“But I always knew I would do something again because companies die but dreams don’t.”
The idea of manufacturing handmade tailored leather shoes came to him after his friend’s jokes about his shoes found him in a boutique looking for new ones.
“After my friend laughed at my shoes for close to two hours, I decided to get a new pair. After selecting a very nice pair, I spotted a shoe shine boy outside. I hurried to him to ask if the shoes could be made in Ghana. His response was “never”. Disheartened, I dropped the idea but one day I was sitting in the bank when an aeroplane flew by. Then I thought, “if we cannot make our own shoes, when we will be able to make our own aeroplanes? So I did my research online”
In December 2010, a very determined Fred started to balance banking with the business online. He resigned from the bank after Heel the World started to become an instant hit because “people liked the design of the shoes and the fact that they were made in Ghana”
The company has now taken on a social enterprise phase; helping young Ghanaian start-ups through partnerships and various training sessions.
“We do a variety of things to help Ghanaian start-ups. Not necessarily money but also in partnering with smaller businesses. We’ve also had training sessions for young entrepreneurs and we partnered with ZHEST consultancy and we trained them on how to start a business. We invited people who are specialists in their various fields.”
When asked why the business only focused on men shoes, Fred said, “There might be a women’s line in the future. Truth is, we haven’t done it yet because we are waiting for a fellow lady to take it up; we are waiting for a “Sheel the World” but if she doesn’t appear we can guarantee you we will make heels that will give Christian Louboutin a run for his money”
Deborah Wiafe-Agyei/businessworldghana.com