By Bathandwa Ndlangisa
Cool comes in the brightest of blue, red and yellow, plus the hippest amapiano stars, Black Coffee, Connie Ferguson and Tanzania’s finest football team wear it.
Themba Makamo, the founder of Vaya Footwear, was not lucky though.
“I had limited resources, tough competition and moments of self-doubt,” Makamo recalls about launching the sneaker brand in 2017.
But Vaya, after the township lingo for “go for it”, tells the story of his resilience. Makamo kept his focus on his plans for the sneakers and has never given up despite many obstacles.
He was a freelance multimedia content producer for his local community newspaper when he got the idea to start the Vaya. It was the inspirational stories of local heroes who went for their dreams that inspired him to start his own business.
But it was also Makamo’s own vision of what works that led to the success of Vaya sneakers – they look any day as good as global brands like Adidas and Puma.
That is why South African Amapiano artists like Amaroto, Uncle Waffles and Major League have been wearing it in their American and European tours.
That is how Vaya was first exposed through international clients. According to Makamo, that is how their international online sales started shooting up.
Black Coffee started buying it and wearing them during the peak of Covid-19.
Vaya also oozes inter-generational cool. Ferguson says she is now proudly wearing the sneakers after she saw it from her daughter.
And they have taken off across the African continent. Tanzanian biggest football team, Simba FC is wearing it as part of their uniform.
“I am proud of what Vaya Sneakers has achieved and I am grateful for the support,” Makamo says.
His journey serves as an inspiration to entrepreneurs, proving that with perseverance, determination, and a commitment to excellence, it is possible to achieve success.
Pictured above: Themba Makamo
Image source: Supplied
