Yinka Atunde, a computer science graduate of Babcock University, pivoted into shoemaking after a delayed NYSC programme pushed him to rethink his career path. What began with training in Italy, factory experience in Nigeria, and producing just 20 pairs of shoes a day has grown into Yikodeen, now West Africa’s largest safety footwear manufacturer. In 2025, he raised $1.5 million from Aruwa Capital Management to expand its industrial footprint.
Most people don’t study Computer Science at one of Nigeria’s top universities only to graduate and decide to make shoes. But Yinka Atunde was not interested in following the expected path.
Ten years ago, Atunde found himself at a crossroads after completing university. He was waiting to begin his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), but a delay that coincided with Nigeria’s 2015 political transition stretched for almost a year. This left him with time to rethink his direction.
“I literally had nothing going on, and I kept asking myself what I actually wanted to do with my life,” he said.
While many expected him to pursue a traditional tech career or further studies abroad, he instead asked his parents for permission to spend a year learning shoemaking.
Looking back, it would become the starting point of Yikodeen, now a leading safety footwear manufacturer in West Africa.
Learning the craft
Atunde believed footwear production was less complex than it seemed and travelled to Italy to learn shoemaking. He also visited factories in China to understand large-scale production.
After returning to Nigeria and completing NYSC, he chose not to immediately start a company. Instead, he worked in a local shoe factory to understand production from the ground level.
“I went into the factory as a worker because I didn’t want theory. I wanted to understand exactly what was happening on the floor,” he said.
He observed a major difference between Italy and Nigeria. In Italy, shoemaking was highly refined and craft-oriented, while in Nigeria it was more basic. That gap convinced him there was room to build something better.
Building Yikodeen
Starting the business was difficult due to the cost of machinery needed for safety footwear production. Without proper equipment, scaling quality production was impossible.
Atunde began searching across Nigeria for abandoned footwear factories and unused machinery from earlier industrial eras. He visited more than fifteen defunct factories and began purchasing and restoring old machines with engineers.
Many of the machines had been unused for decades, but over time they were repaired and adapted to build a functioning factory.
The early years were also marked by a major challenge: convincing customers to trust locally made safety footwear. Many companies preferred imported products and were sceptical of local alternatives.
Atunde described this period as one of constant improvement and repeated testing as the company tried to prove its quality.
A turning point came when the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board supported testing in the oil and gas sector. After years of trials, Yikodeen’s products were eventually approved for a major contract supplying 10,000 pairs of safety shoes to the police in 2022.
That breakthrough helped shift perception in the market. The company began gaining wider acceptance and now serves over 50 organisations, including Saipem, NLNG, Dangote Group, Seplat, BUA, and the Nigerian Army.
Growth and funding
As demand increased, Yikodeen expanded production capacity. In 2025, the company secured $1.5 million in funding from Aruwa Capital Management to scale operations.
With a new manufacturing facility in Ejigbo, Lagos, the company can now produce over 5,000 pairs of shoes daily and employs about 500 people, more than 61% of whom are women.
Atunde says the company is still in its early stages and aims to expand beyond footwear into a broader industrial safety equipment business.
He believes Yikodeen’s growth shows that Nigerian manufacturers can compete globally and produce to international standards.
However, he also notes that manufacturing remains one of the most difficult sectors in Nigeria, requiring patience, resilience, and long-term commitment.
