How the brand is born and who is the creator.

My name is Zam (commonly known as Gina Sofia) and I’m the CEO of SOFI KOBS. I grew up in a village called Ibanda in Uganda, and as a child if you had a pair of shoes, friends would look at you as if you came from another planet. We used to walk long distances to school bare foot and we would meet so many challenges. I remember stepping on a sharp stone that cut me and I ended up admitted in hospital for one month due to an infection. Many children would miss school for the same reason or simply because of sore feet. So we would make ourselves shoes and toys for playing from leaves but they would wear out easily. After being admitted in hospital, my passion for shoes grew because then I realized how important it is to protect your feet. My first pair of shoes at 7 years old was a Christmas present which I kept because I didn’t want to wear it for fear of ruining it before the next festive season. But by the time I wore it, my feet had out grown it.

I grow up with my grandmother called SOFIA KOBUSINGYE and the brand SOFI KOBS is named after her. She has always inspired me and was known in the village for having her home open to all kids and they called her JAAJA…which means Granny.

 project supporting single mothers and fathers

In August 2019 in Ibanda a village in western Uganda, I managed to open a project supporting single mothers and fathers to make handmade sandals and other crafts using African materials. This ensures a small income to feed their children.

My dream is to be able to buy machines that make shoes so that every child in the village is able to have a pair of shoes. So a big thanks to all our clients because by buying a pair of shoes from SOFI KOBS we are able to save some little money to support the project in IBANDA.

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