Harryson Juma Odari loves everything about leather – the smell of leather, the texture of leather, the durability of leather and the versatility of leather. As the small business owner of Cape Masai Leather, nothing brings him more joy than hearing his customers say how much they love their new custom-made, hand-crafted bag, belt, wallet or purse.
Originally from Kenya, Harryson emigrated to South Africa in 2010 and developed his business idea for affordable, locally produced leather products after chatting to a leather jewellery seller at the popular market located at Greenmarket Square in Cape Town. He was surprised to find out that the leather items she was selling were expensive because everything had to be imported into South Africa. As an entrepreneur at heart, he took on the challenge of finding out where he could source leather locally and learnt how to craft leather jewellery and other leather goods to start his own business.
It’s truly inspiring how Harryson’s business now runs out of his own workshop that employs five other people on a full-time basis. Watch the video below to find out how Harryson grew his business with support from Payfast and our Easy Advance business funding.