top of page
Writer's pictureMontse Domínguez i Munllonch

Talk about us. Boots from Ethiopia


Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu (born 1980) is an Ethiopian business woman, founder and executive director of soleRebels, Africa's "fastest growing footwear company". Alemu has received honors and accolades for her business acumen, as well as her efforts to shift the discourse on Africa away from poverty to the continent's entrepreneurial spirit, social capital, and economic potential.⁣Alemu launched "The Republic of Leather", designing sustainable luxury leather goods, and "Garden of Coffee" retail outlets to promote Ethiopian coffees.⁣⁣The company began out of a workshop on a plot of land owned by Alemu's grandmother in Zenebework.⁣

Tyres for shoes⁣⁣SoleRebels has flourished, growing to one hundred employees, with distribution to thirty countries worldwide, selling to market kingmakers Whole Foods, Urban Outfitters and Amazon.

Franchised and company-owned stores were planned to open in Austria, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the UK.⁣⁣Alemu wanted to create well-paid jobs which could create prosperity using the artisan talents and natural resources of Ethiopia. The selection of footwear as the launch product for the company came later. Alemu was inspired by the seleate or barabasso, the traditional recycled tire sole shoe crafted in, and footwear became the locus around which she chose to build the company.⁣In 2016 the company sold 125,000 pairs of shoes and it had created 1,200 jobs.⁣⁣

⁣Garden Of Coffee in 2017⁣In 2014, Alemu announced a new business venture, The Republic of Leather, via a blog post on the soleRebels website. Alemu identified the luxury leather goods industry as being "ripe for a total re-imagining," along similar lines to what she had accomplished with soleRebels and the footwear industry. Besides espousing the same ideals of ecological and economic sustainability as soleRebels, The Republic of Leather is centered on principles of customer choice—customer choice of design, producer and receiving charity of 5% of the price they pay.⁣⁣⁣

Pic by Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu

Source Wikipedia

コメント


PayPal ButtonPayPal Button

If there were ever a time to join us, it is now. You can power the entrepreneur women and help sustain our future. Support the Coachability Foundation from as little as € 1,  it only takes a minute. If you can, please consider supporting us with a regular amount each month. Thank you.

Info

nhc-footer-anbi-125x0-c-default.png

Action

Donate

Contact

  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
PayPal ButtonPayPal Button

  

       Made with creativity and compromise by  © Coachabilibity Foundation. RSIN NUMBER  861236749  KvK-nummer 78024781 Anbi Status  2021. All Rights Reserved.

bottom of page