News
Forbes: Fastest Growing African Shoe-Brand 'SoleRebels' Launches Flagship Store In Silicon Valley Posted on 16 Oct 14:06
The SoleRebels founder & Chief Executive Officer said in a statement, “I am totally vibed to open our first US soleRebels store in Silicon Valley. We have waited a while to open our first US store because we wanted to find the perfect place to open our first US location.” Alemu described her company’s new store location in the Bay Area as “a place that epitomized the creativity, innovation, craziness, disruption and the overall WALK NAKED ethos that soleRebels is all about. Silicon Valley is the epicenter of all these things and so it’s the perfect place to launch our US retail store business and I imagine there are quite a few folks in and around Silicon Valley who can’t wait to be able to ‘walk naked.’”Silicon Valley: Prepare to walkNAKED! Posted on 12 Sep 09:18
Full Article Here (Tadias.com)
New York (TADIAS) – What better location in the U.S. than California’s famed Silicon Valley to sell comfortable and fashionable footwear that are made from recycled materials with the added value of being 100 percent vegan?
Proud to see soleRebels founder & CEO named winner of the FACE Award for Entrepreneurship! Posted on 20 Jun 10:52
Behind this magnificent topiatry is an incomparably talented and determined woman: Ethiopian businesswoman Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu.SEV Magazine's Beautiful Article on Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu Posted on 19 Mar 10:19
CEO.com | The 20 Most Creative CEOs of 2013 Posted on 18 Feb 18:40
Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu was named one of the 20 Most Creative CEOs of 2013 by ceo.com
Raised in an Ethiopian village, Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu noticed, “We had lots of artisan talent, but no job opportunities.” So she created one—many, in fact, by starting soleRebels, a shoe company that pays fairly and uses local materials such as hand-spun cotton and recycled tires.
The shoes are now sold at Urban Outfitters and Whole Foods. "We don’t want to make a pity product,” says Alemu. “We want people to buy our shoes because they look good.”
Women Fair Trade Leaders Awarded: Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu Posted on 7 Jan 11:40
The World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) has acknowledged soleRebels founder Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu this morning on their website. Along with two other incredible female leaders in fair trade, Carry Somers and Bitten Hogh, Bethlehem was noted for her contributions throughout 2013.CNN names Bethlehem as 1 of 12 female entrepreneurs who changed the way the world does business Posted on 6 Jun 08:37
CNN has named soleRebels founder Bethlehem as one of 12 female entrepreneurs who changed the world does business, along with Coco Chanel founder of iconic fashion house Chanel, beauty products icon Elizabeth Arden, famed entrepreneur Sara Blakely, and Body Shop founder Anita Roddick!
CNN had this to say about Bethlehem:
Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu came up with her business idea after watching her friends and neighbors in the Ethiopian village of Zenabwork, near Addis Ababa, struggling to make a living. She wanted to put their artisan skills to use, and so set up a footwear brand based on a traditional recycled car tire soled shoe.
See the full feature at the following link: 12 female entrepreneurs who changed the way we do business
soleRebels Video Feature from the 2011 Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship Posted on 12 Dec 07:55
This video feature was played at the Gala Night for the 2011 Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship, held in Nairobi.
The Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship are sponsored by Legatum, the Omidyar Network, and Google, and this year's awards were selected by an elite group of judges, including Virgin Founder, Sir Richard Branson.
soleRebels was selected as a Winner at the Awards, and received a prize of $50,000 USD.
Click here to read the full press release of the announcement.
Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu wins Most Valuable Entrepreneur award at 2011 Global Entrepreneurship Week [GEW] Posted on 15 Nov 22:44
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, founder & managing director of soleRebels, Africa’s fastest growing footwear brand, has been awarded the prestigious Most Valuable Entrepreneur (MVE) award during a special event at the 2011 Global Entrepreneurship Week [GEW] in Ethiopia.
“I am honored to be given this award. I accept it with the full knowledge that not simply hard work, but good fortune and having a great team beside me, have allowed me to achieve my dreams. That is the true power of entrepreneurship - it involves not only an idea and a single person, but also those who will follow that idea, dedicate themselves to it and make it a living and breathing reality. It is within this process that greater shared prosperity for the many can be achieved.”
Global Entrepreneurship Week 2011, the world's largest celebration of entrepreneurship, features millions of people participating in thousands of events in more than 100 countries and all 50 United States. Events are held November 14-20, 2011, to celebrate innovation, entrepreneurship and creativity. Now in its fourth year, Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) will bring together aspiring and inspiring entrepreneurs, helping them embrace originality, imagination and ingenuity through local, national and global activities.
GEW has grown exponentially since its inaugural event in 2008. Last year more than 7.5 million people took part in an estimated 37,000 events across 104 countries and this year more than 10 million people in 102 countries are expected to participate. Co-founded by the Kauffman Foundation and Enterprise UK, a business-led, government-backed campaign in the United Kingdom, GEW helps develop young people's knowledge, skills and networks to inspire them to grow sustainable enterprises. Students, educators, entrepreneurs, business leaders, employees, non-profit leaders, government officials and others will participate in a host of activities that are virtual and face-to-face events, large-scale competitions and intimate networking gatherings.
Ethiopia joins 119 nations to celebrate Global Entrepreneurship week from November 14 to 20. Michael Fekade, Chief Executive Officer of Empact Capital Partners, LLC, the host of the weeklong event, says it will give young people an opportunity to network. Aspiring entrepreneurs will be encouraged to foster creativity to build businesses.
Bethlehem received the award in front of a packed audience of over 300 at the GEW Ethiopia forum on "Entrepreneurship in Ethiopia" , held today at Addis Ababa University .
Addis Ababa University Faculty of Business and Economics hosted this event where Bethlehem spoke alongside fellow Ethiopian entrepreneurs Ermias Amelga founder of Access Capital , about the challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship based on their personal stories and experiences. Girma Wolde-Giorgis, the president of Ethiopia, expressed his excitement for the country's first-ever celebration of Global Entrepreneurship Week.