17-year-old South African who started making sneakers from his mom’s garage launches his own sneakers store

Two months ago, 17-year-old South African entrepreneur Utlwanang Mmeti launched his own footwear brand, ‘Dapper Footwear’. Two months later, he has opened his own footwear store in Midrand, South Africa. He is Africa’s youngest sneaker brand owner.

Utlwanang Mmeti is from a village in South Africa called Luka in Rustenburg. At the age of 16, he had the idea of starting his own sneaker brand. He put his ideas to work and started working on his dream to be a sneaker brand owner. The 17 years old began producing sneakers from the corner of his mother’s garage.

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Starting from scratch was one of the most difficult parts for Ultwanang. He was faced with so many challenges along the way; ranging from the lack of finance to branding. The lending institutions in South Africa, as per law, shall not loan money to a person under 18 years old. Ultwanang had no options but one! He had to raise money from close friends and families.

Today, his hard work and perseverance is paying off as he launched his own sneakers store in Midrand, Guateng, South Africa. He took to his social media page to celebrate his success and encourages young people in Africa to follow their dreams and work hard. A pair of Dapper Footwear costs $56.