It’s no secret that I LOVE leather. After all, I have spent the past several years creating the planet’s fastest growing African-originated global footwear brand: soleRebels.
My love for leather has grown, and as a result I became inspired to create something that reached new heights of excitement!
Resourceful Rebel
Wings magazine profiles soleRebels ceo and founder, Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu
To kick off a new year for new ideas, Wings finds inspiration in the new wave of African innovators who are coming up with ingenious solutions to local challenges."
Read the Full Article Here.
SoleRebels’ meteoric rise from small-scale Addis Ababa shoe shop to Africa’s fastest-growing footwear brand is a unique tale of success — especially on this continent, where opportunities do not come easily to young entrepreneurs.
Since the founding of her company in 2004, Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu has garnered much media attention and multiple international awards for her distinctive approach to manufacturing. More impressive, however, has been the sales growth that has propelled soleRebels toward global-brand recognition.
soleRebels and tooTOOs were featued in the Guardian style section on Sunday, February 23rd
For a new take on spare tyres, check out Ethiopian company Sole Rebels, which recycles rubber into soles for bright, beautiful shoes and pays its workers a fair wage, too.
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.”