Artisan skills attract Colombian firm to Ecuador
06/11/2014
Ecuador’s industry ministry has helped set up a new footwear design centre in the country and has provided funding for local producers to visit industry exhibitions overseas to build up contacts and promote Ecuadorean shoes. At the same time, the government put tariffs in place to encourage retailers in Ecuador to source domestically produced footwear.
Roa has seized on the opportunity for an increase in business in Ecuador by setting up a new joint venture with a producer there. In recent comments in Ecuadorean media, one of the Colombian company’s directors, Juan Carlos Roa, said market advantages in Ecuador and the high level of artisan skills among the local workforce, especially in the province of Tungurahua, had convinced his company to go ahead.
Roa intends to invest $500,000 in the project initially and to make around 6,000 pairs of high-quality shoes, aimed at the Ecuadorean market, per month.
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