soleRebels featured on BBC News Posted on 22 May 09:00

This week soleRebels was featured on BBC News in a special, Turning car tyres into shoes at Ethiopian factory.

You can watch the full video at BBC News.

Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu meets Lego’s Jorgen Vig Knudstorp on BBC Ideas Exchange Posted on 5 Sep 08:19

The Ideas Exchange is a series from the BBC exploring the minds shaping global business. It pairs up business leaders from around the world to discuss today's business landscape and their secrets to success.

Watch the video below to see soleRebels founder, Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, meet Lego CEO Jorgen Vig Knudstorp.

BBC is featuring soleRebels - Ethiopian shoemaker takes great strides Posted on 27 Jul 08:28

Head over to BBC.co.uk to catch soleRebels' video feature from African Dream, titled Ethiopian shoemaker takes great strides.

Sony Pictures Entertainment Spotlights Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu Posted on 16 Jun 21:01

Sony Pictures Entertainment will feature Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, the award winning founder of soleRebels in their upcoming landmark series Trading Secrets: Inside the Minds Shaping Global Business.

Commissioned by the BBC, this 8-part series will air worldwide to over 300 Million homes at the end of 2012. Filming for the project begins this week in Addis Ababa and then moves to Denmark over the coming weeks.

The series explores the new world of business through the experiences of the 16 greatest business leaders on the planet in an exciting and groundbreaking format. BBC will heavily promote the series through a fully integrated marketing campaign that combines TV, print, multimedia, and social media.

“Participants for this series were selected because they represent the most inspirational business leaders across the world today! Bethlehem through her ingenuity, business acumen, innovative strategies and deep commitment to building a global brand that serves consumers and workers equally well, has earned her place among this exalted group”, stated Mat Steiner, Managing Director for Sony’s GOGGLEbox division, the production entity producing the series.

In each episode, one legendary business figure will meet an equally legendary businessman or woman and their conversations will be filmed. These two seminal business minds will share with each other, and the global audience watching, their experiences of running a global business, the lessons learned and how their decisions and strategies have influenced the shift in the shape of the global business landscape.

Bethlehem, hailed for creating soleRebels, the 1st global consumer brand to emerge from Africa, will be partnering with business maverick Joergen Vig Knudstorp the Chief Executive Officer of the iconic company LEGO, the 3rd largest toymaker on the planet!

“I am excited about sharing what soleRebels is all about with LEGO’s CEO Joergen Vig Knudstorp. He is someone that I greatly admire, not simply for the fact that he resurrected a cherished global brand making it even better and more meaningful in the process, but for the manner in which he did that – with authenticity and ethics driving the entire endeavor. Those elements are KEY drivers behind everything we do at soleRebels”, stated Bethlehem.

These two business mavericks will meet at LEGO’s storied headquarters in Billund Denmark where they will explore subjects ranging from:

• How Vig Knudstorp pulled the beloved 80+ year old LEGO brand back from the brink of death and turned the company into a highly innovative, massively profitable multi-billion dollar globe straddling powerhouse – all while maintaining the underlying authenticity of the LEGO brand.
• How Bethlehem built soleRebels from scratch inside her community – one of the world's most impoverished – turning it into a multi-million dollar global enterprise that creates incredible footwear that people around the planet are passionate about while generating creative employment & prosperity inside Ethiopia.
• What sustainability means for their enterprises, both known for their innovative approaches to full product and company sustainability.
• Their global growth strategies for the next 5 years including how they address their shared idea of allowing consumers to actively engage with their respective brands.

soleRebels Featured on BBC Afrique Posted on 6 Jun 07:42

soleRebels has just been featured on BBC Afrique in an article titled "Succes story" africaine. Check out an excerpt from the article below:

"Nous employons des gens sans expérience mais talentueux, parfois de milieux très défavorisés, nous les formons a nos méthodes d’artisanat et nous les récompensons financièrement ".

Pour l’heure, SoleRebels produit jusqu’à 800 paires de chaussures par jour, dont les prix varient entre 35 et 95 dollars sur le marché international.

Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu affirme que son modèle économique, qui mise essentiellement sur internet, lui permet de comprendre les besoins du marché en temps réel.

Click here to read the full article: "Success story" africaine
Click here to read the English translated version: African Success Story

soleRebels to be featured on BBC's African Dream Posted on 24 May 19:53

A great crew from the BBC stopped by today and filmed a great segment about soleRebels for African Dream, a program dedicated to spotlighting top African entrepreneurs. 

It will be broadcast on BBC World starting in June!!!! 

Thanks BBC!