Hiroki Co. Ltd, a Japanese-based leather producing factory, is set to commence production at its plant located in Ethiopia in mid-March, Fortune reported.

Hiroki established the Hiroki Addis Manufacturing S.C in September last year , with an investment of close to 10 million birr. The factory will start producing leather garments, bags, wallets and shoes for export to the Japanese market, according to Fortune.

“We decided to open a factory in Ethiopia because of the availability of quality leather raw material,” says Youngil Song, president of Hiroki Addis. “It is one of the finest leather in the world.” he added.

Hiruki’s production plant will be based in a rented property in Alemgena town, in the Oromia Region, located some 26 km from Addis Ababa.

The factory targeting an annual production of 1,300 pairs of leather garments, 8,000 bags, 3,600 wallets and 7,000 shoes during the first year of production. The Company will start production with 30 employees, according to Song.

The factory plans to raise the number of employees to over 100 in three years time when it moves its production plat to the Bole Lemi Industrial Zone.

Source: Fortune