Two Italian based shoe making equipment manufacturers, DESPA and PIDIJI, will start importing machines and accessories on January 13, 2013. The machines will be stored in a 700sqm warehouse in the Nifas Silk - Lafto area. The companies received their licence in September under the name DESPA and DESPAEast Africa.

The company is supplying equipment to footware factories such as Ambesa, Jamaica, Shebele and Waliya, Nicola Masolini, general manager of the company told Fortune. The company is looking towards getting a licence to distribute to East African countries, as it already has long-standing customers in Uganda and Kenya, according Nicola.

Currently the company has 30,000 machines and accessories for the production of footwear. From these, it will distribute 1,000 to 2,000 items to Ethiopia, such as installation, reinforcement and treatment machines.

DESPA and PIDIJI have been in the market, since 1983. They have been supplying shoe making machinery, accessories, glues and materials to the leather industry and to those involved in the production of footwear, worldwide.