Company founder Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu to Nairobi to give final presentation to elite panel of judges headed by VIRGIN founder Sir Richard Branson.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – soleRebels Africa’s fastest growing footwear brand has bested well over 3000 top level African companies and reached the finals of the prestigious 2011 Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship!
Company founder and managing director Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu will now head to Nairobi, Kenya on December 8th, 2011 to give a final presentation in front of an elite panel of judges headed by VIRGIN founder Sir Richard Branson.
The Awards, dubbed the Nobel of Business Awards in Africa, honors Africa’s best entrepreneurs who work to create businesses that meet the needs of those around them and by doing so raise the living standards of their communities while also creating something of lasting value for themselves, their employees, their communities and their nations and rewards them with prizes of $350,000.
“At our core we at soleRebels are creative artisans who aim to craft the coolest and most comfortable footwear. We do this by combining our heritage artisan crafts with modern design sensibilities, while pouring our creative selves into our shoes. The final result is that when our footwear is bought, the purchaser can SEE, FEEL and enjoy all the elements of heart, soul and creative craftsmanship that have gone into their construction. We are deeply proud that that this ethos has carried us to the finals of this amazing competition!” stated Bethlehem.
The Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship is owned and founded by Legatum, a private investment group, based in Dubai, with a twenty-five year heritage of global investing. They manage a multi-billion dollar fund of proprietary capital which is allocated to businesses and programmes that promote sustainable development.
Legatum is joined by Omidyar Network as a major sponsor of the 2011 Africa Awards. Omidyar Network is a philanthropic investment firm dedicated to harnessing the power of markets to create opportunity for people to improve their lives. Established in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, the organization invests in and helps scale innovative organizations to catalyze economic and social change. To date, Omidyar Network has committed more than $400 million to for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations that foster economic advancement and encourage individual participation across multiple investment areas, including microfinance, property rights, government transparency, and social media.
“This years Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship received more than 3,300 applications from top companies in 48 African countries, the most ever received. soleRebels selection as a finalist puts the company into an elite category of achievement”, commented Hamish Banks, Head of Corporate Communications for Legatum.
Google is also a partner of the 2011 Africa Awards . Their mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. Google's strategy in Africa is to get more users online by developing an accessible, relevant and sustainable internet ecosystem.
Reducing access as a barrier to all potential users
Making the Internet relevant and useful to Africans
Helping strengthen an Internet ecosystem in Africa that is vibrant, and sustainable and self-sufficient in the long-term
The Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship is collaborating with Google in exploring a number of initiatives to promote African entrepreneurship within the scope of the Africa Awards programme.
Check out the clip below of soleRebels being featured on the French news program, France 24.
"We can show the other people living outside Addis or in a developed country, we're not really sitting and waiting for someone to come in and help us, but we can also contribute as a community"
Founds GLOBAL SHAPERS community in Addis Ababa; deploys cutting edge social media campaign to select a next generation of emerging leaders
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – World Economic Forum [WEF] Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab has named Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, founder and managing director of trailblazing footwear brand soleRebels and a WEF 2011 Young Global Leader, as Founding Curator of the Forum's newest and most critical venture, the Global Shapers community.
The Forum is establishing this special community of young people in their 20s to provide youth with a global platform to shape the future by integrating the personal, community, and global dimensions. Through the unparalleled convening power of the World Economic Forum, the GlobalShapers Community is diverse in demographics, geographical areas and sectors. However, it is united by a common desire to channel the members’ tremendous energy and enthusiasm into building a more peaceful and inclusive world.
Global Shapers will undertake activities that generate a positive impact by increasing each individual Shaper’s ability to improve the state of their community and by providing opportunities for Shapers to have local and global impact. The community will work in collaboration with the Forum of Young Global Leaders and will operate out of more than 75 local city hubs – from New York to Mexico City, from London to Amman, from Johannesburg to New Delhi, and from Addis Ababa to Adelaide
“I am deeply honored by Chairman Klaus’ designation of me to head this exciting initiative in Ethiopia. As a community grown entrepreneur myself I am excited to be pioneering this effort to engage and interact with talented youth as they strive to make their communities and the world at large a better place,” stated Bethlehem.
The Global Shapers Community is based on the concept of a global network of local hubs in the most important and the most challenging cities in the world. To that end, the Global Shapers Community will undertake events and activities that generate a positive impact within their local community but which also remain connected to global issues through the interactions generated inside each hub, between hubs, and on a global level.
Bethlehem has created a cutting edge strategy to build her Global Shapers community by selecting her group based on input received through outreach conducted via social media. Under the title COME CHANGE YOUR WORLD, she is inviting people to express why they or someone they know in the greater Addis Ababa area should be chosen as a Global Shapers. They can do this via several channels:
1. Post on the dedicated worldSHAPERS facebook page www.facebook.com/ComeChangeYourWorld
2. Twitter their nomination for a Global Shaper using the dedicated worldSHAPERS Twitter @worldSHAPERS
3. Come in person to the soleRebels store in Adams Pavilion at Saar Bayt and submit their nomination for a Global Shaper on a neatly PRINTED document [No handwriting will be accepted]
The written submissions can be no more than 150 words long, while the twitter submissions can not exceed TWITTERS maximum length.
The criteria for selection as a Global Shaper are:
Between 20 and 30 years of age at the time of nomination
From all walks of life and socio-economic backgrounds
Highly committed to developing their leadership potential towards serving society
Adhering to the highest standards of moral and intellectual integrity
Possessing unique qualities that set them distinctly apart from the mainstream
Entrepreneurial track record, having already initiated and delivered a major project or founded a company or organization, exceptionally contributing to serving society at large
Ready to deeply engage in the community, reinforcing its mission and objectives and supporting fellow shapers in their individual and professional development
Bethlehem will choose and then lead a team of approximately 10 dynamic, passionate, and emerging young leaders aged 20-30, and forming them into a WEF Global Shapers hub over the course of a year. The hub established by Bethlehem and her team will then become an ongoing entity remaining in place as a permanent part of the World Economic Forums structures. Bethlehem will also pass leadership to a member of the community deemed to have demonstrated the greatest potential for continuing to lead + build upon what has been established by the founders. The entire hubs activities will be online at www.comechangeyourworld.com.
Bethlehem says her aim with using social media tools from the start is to create a LIVING + BREATHING grassroots community that from day one exists BOTH on the ground and in the social media realm. "Doing our outreach and interactions in this way means that everything – from the original selection of members through to the actual initiatives being implemented – can touch the largest number of people while also harnessing the greatest amount of real time input, insights and feedback. Ongoing collaboration is at the core of this initiative so what better way to expand the possibilities of collaboration than utilizing social media.”
The opportunity to become a Global Shaper is doubly exciting for those chosen because in the process of applying their skills to the world’s most pressing problems, Global Shapers will also be able to advance their own personal careers at the same time through the unique scope and depth of opportunities that are simultaneously available to sister organizations of the World Economic Forum. This includes interacting with Young Global Leaders, Social entrepreneurs, Technology Pioneers, Foundations Members, Global Agenda Councils, and many more.
For the next 4 weeks, Phase 1 of the initiative will be live with Bethlehem inviting everyone in the wider community to Twitter and post about who they feel are the most dynamic 20-30 year olds who should be in the inaugural Global Shapers community.
World Economic Forum Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab expressed excitement over Bethlehem’s appointment and approach:
“We went looking for an excellent Founding Curator for the Global Shapers community and are delighted that Bethlehem has agreed to take on this unique role. As a Founding Curator Bethlehem leads the local Global Shaper Community in the first year of operation, the most critical year of this initiative as it sets the tone and vision and for all subsequent years for this critical community.“
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – soleRebels, Africa’s fastest growing footwear brand, has inched one step closer to the prestigious 2011 Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship with its selection to THE FINAL 15 companies who will proceed to the final round of judging.
“At our core, we at soleRebels are creative artisans who aim to craft the coolest and most comfortable footwear. We do this by combining our heritage artisan crafts with modern design sensibilities, while pouring our creative selves into our shoes. The final result is that when our footwear is bought, the purchaser can SEE, FEEL and enjoy all the elements of heart, soul and creative craftsmanship that have gone into their construction. We are deeply proud that that this ethos has carried us to the top 15 of this amazing competition!” stated soleRebels founder and managing director Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu.
The Awards, dubbed the Nobel of Business Awards in Africa, honors Africa’s best entrepreneurs who work to create businesses that meet the needs of those around them and by doing so raise the living standards of their communities while also creating something of lasting value for themselves, their employees, their communities and their nations and rewards them with prizes of $350,000.
This years Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship received more than 3,300 applications from top companies in 48 African countries, the most ever received. soleRebels selection to the final 15 puts it into an elite category of achievement for the companies selected.
The Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship is owned and founded by Legatum a private investment group, based in Dubai, with a twenty-five year heritage of global investing. They manage a multi-billion dollar fund of proprietary capital which is allocated to businesses and programmes that promote sustainable development.
Legatum is joined by Omidyar Network as a major sponsor of the 2011 Africa Awards. Omidyar Network is a philanthropic investment firm dedicated to harnessing the power of markets to create opportunity for people to improve their lives. Established in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, the organization invests in and helps scale innovative organizations to catalyze economic and social change. To date, Omidyar Network has committed more than $400 million to for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations that foster economic advancement and encourage individual participation across multiple investment areas, including microfinance, property rights, government transparency, and social media. To learn more, visit www.omidyar.com.
Google is also a partner of the 2011 Africa Awards. Their mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. Google's strategy in Africa is to get more users online by developing an accessible, relevant and sustainable internet ecosystem.
Reducing access as a barrier to all potential users
Making the Internet relevant and useful to Africans
Helping strengthen an Internet ecosystem in Africa that is vibrant, and sustainable and self-sufficient in the long-term
The Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship is collaborating with Google in exploring a number of initiatives to promote African entrepreneurship within the scope of the Africa Awards programme.
Ten Finalists will be honored at this year's invitation-only Gala Awards that will take place on December 8th, 2011 in Nairobi, Kenya. The Gala Awards event will lead into a high-profile conference on entrepreneurship - CONVERGENCE Africa, which will be addressed by business luminaries like Sir Richard Branson. One Grand Prize winner will receive US $100,000 to invest back into the business and employees, and five others will receive awards of US $50,000.
This interview was for the national broadcaster here in Ethiopia. It was on Friday this week (October 7) and was broadcast live.
On ARHIBU people get to phone in from all over the country and ask questions of the person being interviewed. It was a great opportunity to share what soleRebels have been up to and hear back what people here think about all of it.
There were quite a few calls from aspiring entrepreneurs who wanted some guidance on moving a business forward, which I was very pleased to give!!
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – TED, the ideas worth spreading group, and iconic global conservation group the World Wildlife Fund [WWF] have teamed up to create a special TEDx/WWF and they have invited soleRebels founder and 2011 World Economic Forum Young Global Leader Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu to address the conference as keynote speaker.
"I am a HUGE fan of TED and the WWF so to be able to participate in their very first joint event as a speaker is really a thrill of a lifetime. And on top of that, to be asked to share my personal experiences, well that’s a dream come true." stated Bethlehem.
The TEDxWWF conference will comprise forward-thinking speakers who will share their endeavors and insights (scientific, adventurous, artistic or otherwise) that are challenging and changing the way we think, live, and work to meet the challenges of living on our one planet.
TEDxWWF aims to deliver an unforgettable day, where people come together to discuss a range of issues, the broad theme being the environment and ways in which people might better live in harmony with nature. The programme aims to be though-provoking, moving, creative, emotional and essentially positive and uplifting - in the spirit of 'ideas worth spreading'.
The theme of TEDxWWF is 'One Planet Living' and it will examine the idea of creating and embracing a truly sustainable future. The aim is to go beyond the idea of sustainability as an aspiration by channeling the experiences of inspiring individuals like Bethlehem who will share their endeavours and insights.
"Bethlehem spoke at our 50th anniversary celebrations back in May of this year. She created such a stir with her insightful thoughts, passionate delivery and fresh ideas that literally everyone at WWF wanted to find the absolute next possible chance to bring her back. We are excited that she has agreed to appear in this special TEDxWWF event", stated WWF Director General James P. Leape.
The symposium will be held on Thursday, October 13, 2011 in Geneva’s famed Palladium.
soleRebels' founder Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu recently spoke at the World Bank /IMF Annual Meeting on a panel titled Africa Needs Growth That Delivers Jobs.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – soleRebels, Africa’s fastest growing footwear brand, has been selected as one of the top 30 companies to proceed to the next round of judging in the 2011 Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship.
This year's Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship received more than 3,300 applications from top companies in 48 African countries, making selection to the top 30 an already elite category of achievement for the companies selected. The top 30 will be judged again and the Africa Awards will then announce their top 15!!!
The Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship is owned and founded by Legatum a private investment group, based in Dubai, with a twenty-five year heritage of global investing. they manage a multi-billion dollar fund of proprietary capital which is allocated to businesses and programmes that promote sustainable development.
“I am absolutely elated that we have reached the top 30. In itself speaks to the amazing work we have accomplished as a team and the immense potential this company and our brand has,” stated soleRebels founder and managing director Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu.
Legatum is joined by Omidyar Network as a major sponsor of the 2011 Africa Awards. Omidyar Network is a philanthropic investment firm dedicated to harnessing the power of markets to create opportunity for people to improve their lives. Established in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, the organization invests in and helps scale innovative organizations to catalyze economic and social change. To date, Omidyar Network has committed more than $400 million to for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations that foster economic advancement and encourage individual participation across multiple investment areas, including microfinance, property rights, government transparency, and social media. To learn more, visit www.omidyar.com.
Google is also a partner of the 2011 Africa Awards. Their mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. Google's strategy in Africa is to get more users online by developing an accessible, relevant, and sustainable internet ecosystem.
Reducing access as a barrier to all potential users
Making the Internet relevant and useful to Africans
Helping strengthen an Internet ecosystem in Africa that is vibrant, sustainable, and self-sufficient in the long-term
The Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship is collaborating with Google in exploring a number of initiatives to promote African entrepreneurship within the scope of the Africa Awards programme.
Ten Finalists will be honored at this year's invitation-only Gala Awards attended by Africa's business leaders, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and international media. One Grand Prize winner will receive US $100,000 to invest back into the business and employees, and five others will receive awards of US$50,000.
I just spoke at the World Bank /IMF Annual Meeting on a panel titled Africa Needs Growth That Delivers Jobs Watch the entire session in the video below.
Check out the clip below of soleRebels being featured on the French news program, 
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – soleRebels, Africa’s fastest growing footwear brand, has inched one step closer to the prestigious 2011 Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship with its selection to 
This interview was for the national broadcaster here in Ethiopia. It was on Friday this week (October 7) and was broadcast live.
soleRebels' founder, Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, was 
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – soleRebels, Africa’s fastest growing footwear brand, has been selected as one of the