Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu started soleRebels in a workshop on her grandmother’s land. It now sells in dozens of countries.
From Zenebework in Addis Ababa, Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu built a footwear brand with soles made from recycled tyres and hired skilled artisans from her own community.
Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu was born in 1980 in Zenebework, in Addis Ababa, to parents who worked at a local hospital. She went to public schools and studied accounting at Unity University, graduating in 2004.
A workshop and a purpose
In early 2005 she founded soleRebels. She had seen many skilled artisans in Zenebework living with chronic unemployment, and she wanted to create jobs. The company began in a workshop on a plot of land owned by her grandmother. She was inspired by the seleate or barabasso, a traditional Ethiopian shoe with a sole made from recycled tyres.
soleRebels grew to about 300 employees in Ethiopia, with distribution to thirty countries and sales through Whole Foods, Urban Outfitters and Amazon, with stores in places including Ethiopia, Singapore, Switzerland and Taiwan. In 2016 the company sold 125,000 pairs of shoes and had created 1,200 jobs.
More brands
She launched The Republic of Leather in 2014 and Garden of Coffee in 2017, with outlets in Addis Ababa. She was the first female African entrepreneur to address the Clinton Global Initiative, and was named Outstanding African Business Woman at the African Business Awards in 2011.
Her message is that Africa’s story can be about enterprise and craft, not just poverty.