Friends,
I have just returned from Dalian China and the World Economic Forums SUMMER DAVOS meeting which I was privileged to attend in my capacity as a Young Global Leader and as a panelist.
The official spiel for the meeting says that the meeting: “… provides a platform for emerging, high-growth companies to work alongside already established global companies and top political and academic leaders to identify fresh new ideas and innovative new technologies that will lead to further global growth….” That’s another way to say it’s a hyper meeting featuring the planet’s most high powered bankers, mega business people, political honchos, super techies, [and of course , a shoemaker ]…. all coming together to mega wheel and deal and throw out various ideas on how to improve the state of the world.
The whole thing is inspiring. It’s enlightening, and a bit intimidating, and even infuriating. Let’s face it: it takes some kind of OOOMPH to say you’ve got answers to the world’s problems.
The overall theme of this year’s jamboree was MASTERING QUALITY GROWTH.
My Panel was titled New Frontiers of Consumption. Our aim with this panel was to examine emerging and frontier markets, youth consumer attitudes, the role of technology, and how to satisfy the demand for quality and sustainability. It was a discussion that was as dynamic as the subject and the forum itself.
Prior to your panel its full rock star treatment as you are sequestered backstage waiting to be brought out onto the stage.
Once onstage, you realize there are people here. Lots of them. To see me!!!?!?! and listen to what I have to say!!!?!??!?? And wait a minute, is that the founder of GOOGLE ?!??!?! and Facebook ?!?!?!? and INFOSPACE !!!?!?!?!!?????? Ok. Quickly realize this thing is BIG. Then there is a long pause and, mercifully, the adrenaline kicks in….. so on we rolled!!!
I think I did ok [ ]
But there were some loud thuds in the audience during my talk - must have been marketing people falling off their chairs when I suggested that we stop looking at consumers as consumers and start looking at them as what they are: people!!!
Here are some more highlights:
- Future trends in consumption are being defined by emerging markets, whose demographic strength is shifting economic power away from the West.
- The spread of technology is allowing consumers, especially the young, have a greater say in what they consume, and has increased knowledge of the social impacts of production.
- The current model of consumption growth is environmentally unsustainable. There are simply not enough raw materials in the world to provide billions more consumers with the level of material consumption traditionally enjoyed by the West.
There is a debate over whether a shift to sustainable consumption should be driven by governments or consumers. While more informed consumers lead to more demand for sustainable consumption, advocates for government action argue that strong regulation – as well as accurate pricing of environmental and social costs – is needed to shift consumption growth from dwindling finite resources to non-material growth.
Invites soleRebels fans from around the planet to come and walkNAKED!
--- addis ababa, ethiopia ---
soleRebels Africa’s fastest growing footwear brand, has launched its 1st in a series of soleRebels retail stores.
Located in the groundbreaking retail mall of Adams Pavilion in the company’s hometown of addis ababa , the store is a fantastic interactive + FUN + COLORFUL environment. Serving dual duties , the store is both a destination retail outlet for the soleRebels brand AND the HUB store for the global roll-out of franchised soleRebels stores - the very first brand from Africa to undertake a global retail roll-out!!
The store literally brings to life soleRebels awesome walkNAKED brand theme. At the entrance to the store fans of the brand are immediately greeted by fully tagged out floor to ceiling walkNAKED windows. Once inside , giant ceiling and wall mounted signs allow people to jump inside the brands walkNAKED spirit while also highlighting the brand unique, colorful and cool artisan heritages !
“ walkNAKED beautifully sums up so many things about soleRebels - from the lightness + SUPERcomfiness of our footwear – yup just like you are walkingNAKED - to the overall attitude of our brand. We wanted to give our fans an environment where they could interact on a different level with the soleRebels brand AND the walkNAKED idea. I am proud to say that the soleRebels store is IT! ” stated the brands founder and managing director bethlehem tilahun alemu.
Sitting in the walkNAKED lounge under a GIANT wall size soleRebels sign that read if these babies don’t make you wanna walkNAKED nothing will, Bethlehem explained the stores aims further: “ This is the model store for our global retail rollout which will occur both via company owned and franchised stores. We feel passionately that people all over the planet want comfy, stylish and totally unique value priced footwear and so they can’t wait to have a soleRebels store open near them. And even if there are people who don’t know about soleRebels , our brand and our amazing footwear, can you imagine anyone who wouldn’t embrace a footwear brand whose motto is walkNAKED !”, offered a smiling bethlehem tilahun alemu.
The store features over 800 unique sandal, slipOn and laceUP styles. With price points ranging from $30 USD to $95 USD for fully artisan crafted footwear including the company’s super new COZEES boot line, the products represent amazing value.
The soleRebels store also features:
- gorgeous hand-crafted full walk around displays that showcase the companies revolutionary sandal and shoe hangars which are 100% crafted from leftover production materials. Covered in the company’s signature super cool and colorful hand loomed fabrics, the hangars are a visual nod to soleRebels focus on creating true waste free production while finding creative uses for all production leftovers.
- a customSOLE offer that allows customers to customize ANY soleRebel style they see in the exact colors of their choice. soleRebels artisans will loom and dye and make their shoes according to those specific choices and delver within 24 hours.
- a full soleRebels kids section that offers every single one of soleRebels over 700 styles in kids sizes
- a dedicated b*knd section featuring footwear products “ …. created + crafted for vegans, veggies + everyone who cares deeply about what they wear and who doesn't want any animal related products making up their footwear.”
- a walkNAKED lounge that lets customers come and chill while enjoying signage that highlights the company’s unique footwear philosophies. the lounge also encourages customers to upload in photos of them wearing their soleRebels shoes to the soleRebels website and rewards them for doing so with a free soleRebels walkNAKED tee !
And all products sold are covered by soleRebels unique happySOLES guarantee. the guarantee is groundbreaking in the footwear industry and guarantees 100% customer satisfaction by promising to replace any shoe bought from the soleRebels site NO QUESTIONS ASKED UNTIL the customer is 100% SATISFIED ! AND the happySOLES guarantee also guarantees ANY soleRebel shoe no matter where a customer bought it for the life of the sole. if anything on the shoe goes wrong BEFORE the sole has worn through, soleRebels will replace the pair for free no questions asked !
Click here for a photo gallery of the soleRebels Retail Store!
If you happened to have missed Bethlehem's interview on Saturday morning with Joy Keys, you can listen to the entire recording right now!
Check out the clip in the Podcast player below, and be sure to subscribe to Joy's Podcast to hear other great interviews in the future!
soleRebels founder to speak on African growth and youth economic opportunity
Washington DC / Addis Ababa, Sept 3, 2011
soleRebels founder and 2011 World Economic Forum Young Global Leader Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu has been invited to address the World Bank and IMF’s upcoming Annual meeting held September 23rd-25th in Washington DC.
On September 24 Bethlehem will address a panel titled Africa Needs Growth That Delivers Jobs that will look at sustainable ways to create jobs , especially for Africa’s growing youth populations.
World Bank Vice President Obiageli Ezekwesili believed that bethlehem’s proven track as a successful global entrepreneur gave her a very unique position to address the bodies on the issue of African growth and job creation. “This is one of the key panels at this annual meeting and we wanted a very dynamic young African entrepreneur who HAS created jobs herself to give a real time business perspective. Bethlehem was top of our list! Her participation will inform the critical debate on inclusive growth in Africa and provide key insights for policy makers, development partners and other participants. We are very excited to have her participating.”
Bethlehem will present her views on youth job creation, with a specific focus on how her experiences in creating over 75 full time and 120 part time jobs while simultaneously building Africa’s fastest growing global footwear brand can inform other strategies for youth job growth across Africa.
“I am honored that the Vice President has thought to include me in these critical discussions that will impact on African growth, in particular job opportunities for the youth. As a young entrepreneur myself whose FOUNDING aim was to create a world class brand AND great community based jobs, I am very excited to be able to share my experiences in hopes of catalyzing greater youth employment opportunities around the continent., ” stated Bethlehem.
The 2011 World Bank-IMF Annual Meetings kick off in September. The shareholders of the two institutions and other attendees will participate in a full slate of pre-meeting seminars, and briefings focused on the global outlook and economic recovery.
The Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) each year bring together central bankers, ministers of finance and development, private sector executives, and academics to discuss issues of global concern, including the world economic outlook, poverty eradication, economic development, and aid effectiveness.
DATE: Saturday September 3, 2011
TIME: 11:00 a.m. -11:30 a.m. ET US time
URL: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/joykeys/2011/09/03/bethlehem-tilahun-alemu-forbes-young-power-women
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soleRebels' founder, Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, has just been named by Forbes Magazine as one of the 20 Youngest Power Women In Africa.
Here's what they had to say:
Ethiopian-born entrepreneur was recently named the ‘African Businesswoman of the Year’ by African Business Magazine, a leading pan African business magazine. She is the founder of Sole Rebels, a brand of eco-friendly shoes and sandals made in Ethiopia. She was also named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum earlier this year.
Check out the rest of their list and all of the other exceptional young power women in Africa at this link: www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2011/08/18/the-20-youngest-power-women-in-africa
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
The World Economic Forum has announced that Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, founder and managing director of trailblazing footwear brand soleRebels, will be a featured speaker at this years Annual Meeting of the New Champions.
In 2007 the World Economic Forum established the Annual Meeting of the New Champions [AMNC], held annually in China and alternating between Dalian and Tianjin. The AMNC has since become known as the “Summer Davos”, and provides a platform for emerging, high-growth companies to work alongside already established global companies and top political and academic leaders to identify fresh new ideas and innovative new technologies that will lead to further global growth. This year's AMNC will take place 14-16 September in Dalian, China. Premier Wen Jiabao will deliver the plenary address.
This year's meeting takes place under the theme MASTERING QUALITY GROWTH. An intensive and interactive three-day program will explore the following four elements of this new business matrix:
- Embracing Disruptive Innovation
- Pursuing New Frontiers of Growth
- Shaping New Industry Models and Policies
- Sustaining a Creative and Entrepreneurial Culture
Bethlehem’s session is titled New Frontiers of Consumption and will examine how consumer priorities are evolving across new economic, demographic and technological frontiers. She will also address the following core issues:
- Emerging and frontier market consumers
- Young consumer attitudes
- The role of technology
- Satisfying demand for quality and sustainability
“I am honored and excited to be addressing this forum . It will give me a chance to share what soleRebels has been doing in regards to creating a global footwear brand while simultaneously promoting a very dynamic model of sustainable development. It will also be a great forum to hear what others think of this model and discuss where elements from this model can have meaningful + global impact,” stated Bethlehem.
Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab described Bethlehem’s upcoming speech in the context of the meeting:
“Complexity, interconnectivity and sustainability are emerging as the dominant new realities of the 21st century. A consequence of these realities for industry leaders and policy-makers is the rebalancing of the global economy, which in turn requires recognition of both the qualitative and quantitative measures of growth. To master quality growth at the global level, leaders must discern various policy priorities of multiple government ministries and industry regulators. At the regional level, leaders need to determine the next frontier for growth. At the organizational level, leaders must determine if the entrepreneurial and creative talent is in place to work across all these levels. Bethlehem is extremely well positioned to address all of these interlinking realities in a comprehensive manner, most of all with an authentic voice , one that comes from her experience of having implemented this exact type of vision.”
Notes to editors
Tadias Magazine has just featured soleRebels and our new website in a great article on their website. Read an excerpt of what they had to say about soleRebels below:
SoleRebels, one of Africa’s leading green-footwear brands, has announced the launch of its new e-commerce website. The Ethiopia-based company’s eco-fashion shoes – nicknamed the ‘Nike of Africa‘ – are produced using indigenous practices such as hand-spun organic cotton and artisan hand-loomed fabric. Recycled tires are also incorporated for soles. The end result is environmental-friendly and top quality, vegan footwear.
Read the full article at the following link: Ethiopia’s Global Shoe Brand Goes Online
The United States Peace Corps Volunteers (they call themselves “PCVs”, kinda corny ) in the Amhara region of Ethiopia have teamed up with the Rotary Club, Ethiopia, to create a girl’s leadership camp.
Camp GLOW [ their name - we told you they are kinda corny!] is a week-long camp with five programmed days and two travel days. around 35 to 40 young women, ages 14-17, come from West Amhara, and most of them are from small towns. The camp is organized into theme-based days: Leadership Day, Environment Day, Health Day, Career and Entrepreneur Day, and Gender Day.
The programming of each day follows the theme. And I was fortunate enough to be asked by the US peace Corps members to give the Entrepreneur Day address …..
I spoke about the origins of soleRebels including
- The environmental aspects of the company – taking materials that are available locally, and creating a cool product out of it.
- The idea of risk – how scary it was starting a company.
- Last, but not least, about being a woman in the business world – and challenges associated with this
of particular interest to these up and coming young women was when i showed them what we are doing online including our brand new e*commerce website ! the idea of ecommerce was one they knew very little about BUT one which they became deeply interested in as i showed how it all worked . their reactions, were amazing as this truly showed them the possibilities that lay within , around and beyond the computer
It was an honor to be able to address these up and coming young woman and maybe , just maybe, i may have sparked some ideas that might flourish into the next generation of “soleRebels”......dare to dream!!!!!
We are honored the Africa Awards announced soleRebels as a FEATURED ENTREPRENEUR this week! See what they had to say about soleRebels below:
"The company’s business model, product design, quality and global success has attracted strong interest from international media. The Guardian Newspaper in the UK recently featured soleRebels in an article entitled "Ethiopia firm recycling tyres into shoes does big business via internet" while the web's leading eco-fashion report dubbed the company the "most fabulous eco shoemaker on the planet" and DISCOVERY CHANNEL presenter Summer Rayne Oakes named soleRebels the "world's coolest fair trade brand"."
Friends,
Once onstage, you realize there are people here. Lots of them. To see me!!!?!?! and listen to what I have to say!!!?!??!?? And wait a minute, is that the founder of GOOGLE ?!??!?! and Facebook ?!?!?!? and INFOSPACE !!!?!?!?!!?????? Ok. Quickly realize this thing is BIG. Then there is a long pause and, mercifully, the adrenaline kicks in….. so on we rolled!!!
