Cover image: Sawa low top and high top sneakers
© Entrée to Black Paris

Sawa Shoes is one of the equitable commerce businesses that I talk about during Entrée to Black Paris' "Spirit of Africa" walking tour.

Though it closed its Château Rouge store in the 18th arrondissement in 2022 in favor of an address in the Canal Saint Martin area in the 10th arrondissement, it is a business whose story is inspirational and worth telling in the context of the tour.

Sawa Shoes at 37 rue Myrha, Paris 18e
© Entrée to Black Paris

Sawa Shoes at 65 rue de Lancry, Paris 10e
© Entrée to Black Paris

The face of Sawa Shoes is Mehdi Slimani, a French man of Algerian descent who launched the business with two partners in Douala, Cameroon in 2009.  Their intent was to produce and sell sneakers made 100% in Africa, from raw materials to production to marketing and promotion. 

The following is a quote (translated from French) from a press release found on the company's Website:

Do not expect from us the same charity business as so many other brands: they give a pair of shoes, a notebook or a pencil to a child of Africa for each of their products purchased in the West.

We decided to proceed differently: we manufacture our shoes in Africa to create productive and creative skilled jobs on site as well as to promote the image of what Africa really is - strong and dynamic.

Corruption in Cameroon and fallout from the Arab Spring forced Slimani and his partners to move production to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2011.

The company has never looked back. 

Sawa is proud of the quality of the sneakers it sells and the employment and other economic opportunities it provide across the African continent. Its Website boasts of the quality materials used to produce its shoes (full-grain cut leather for the uppers and the entire internal lining) and presents a detailed explanation of the quality control to which the shoes are subjected to ensure their resistance to flexion, abrasion, and tearing.

I visited the boutique at rue de Lancry several days ago and marveled at the sneaker collections and additional items available for purchase there.  These include jewelry, fabrics, and home decor items.

High tops, jewelry, and home decor items
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Fashion accessories, jewelry, and home decor items
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Pins
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Waxed tablecloths from South Africa
© Entrée to Black Paris

They even carry a line of natural cosmetics from Algeria called Azul.

Azul Cosmetics
© Entrée to Black Paris

The salesperson who was at the boutique when I visited was friendly and helpful.  She told me that Sawa gets a lot more foot traffic in the Canal Saint Martin area but said she misses the community feeling of the location at Château Rouge.

Sawa shoes can be purchased online as well as in person at 65, rue de Lancry.  The other items in the store are not currently available on Sawa's Website.

Sawa Shoes
65, rue de Lancry
75010 Paris
Metro: Jacques Bonsergent (Line 5), République (Lines 3, 5, 8, 9, 11)
Internet: https://sawashoes.com