Background Story About Her Product

Background story about her product
Entrepreneur Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu was born and raised in Zenebework, a small,
impoverished rural community in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia. As a child, she discovered
that people of her community were living in abject squalor because there were very
few jobs available.
While the most of the locals were unemployed, Bethlehem discovered that several of
them possessed remarkable artisan skills which remained largely unexploited. This
observation drove her to brainstorm on ways through which she could transform the
skills of her community members into a sustainable enterprise that could generate
livelihoods for them, and create wealth over the long term.
By 2004, armed with startup capital sourced from her husband and members of her
immediate family, Bethlehem mobilized artistically-gifted members of her community
and founded SoleRebels– which has become one of Africa’s most recognizable
footwear manufacturers.
Basically, SoleRebels produces footwear locally that often features a strong infusion

of ancient Ethiopian culture with subtle undertones of modern, western design
influences. Practically, all SoleRebels shoes are redesigns and reimaginations of the
famous Selate and Barabasso shoe, a traditional recycled tire sole shoe which has
been worn by Ethiopians for a very long time. The Selate and Barabasso shoe was
famously worn by Ethiopian rebel fighters who vehemently opposed western forces
from colonizing the country. As matter of fact, that’s where the name ‘soleRebels’
emerged from.
SoleRebels manufactures comfy sandals, slip-ons and lace-up shoes hand-crafted

from recycled, weather-beaten tires and an assortment of locally-sourced natural
fiber ingredients such as the ancient Koba plant (an indigenous plant which has been
cultivated in Ethiopia for over several thousand years) and organic Abyssinian jute
fiber which are used mainly in creating the mid-soles of SoleRebels shoes. By
blending this ancient recycling tradition with contemporary, western-influenced, hip
shoe designs, SoleRebels has built a successful footwear brand utilizing a production
process that is zero carbon production and very eco-sensitive. All of SoleRebels
shoes are hand-crafted by Bethlehem’s staff of over 100 people strictly using
Ethiopian craft practices such as hand-spun organic cotton and artisan hand-loomed
fabric. And the company sources all of its raw materials locally.
Today, shoes under the SoleRebels brand are sold in over 30 countries around the
world and through various e-commerce sites like Amazon and Endless. Prices vary,
between $20 to $100.
Bethlehem’s interview
When I started soleRebels many people laughed and said I was crazy.

“Your plan is to remake the barabasso* into a global footwear brand
leveraging the artisan talents in THAT community? What kind of
business idea is that?”
To tell you the truth, sometimes I felt like we were crazy.
You see, I grew up in two worlds. The world that I knew of - one of
rich culture, creativity and skill, and the world that society told me I
was part of - one of poverty, incompetence and hopelessness.
I was born and raised in the Zenabwork/Total suburb of Addis Ababa,

one of the most impoverished and marginalized communities of
Ethiopia. Nonetheless, I grew up steeped inside Ethiopia’s rich artisan
heritages. I saw my mom hand spinning raw cotton into fine threads
that were then used by our talented family members to hand-weave
into amazing textiles like Gabbis** and Netallas***. I saw her hand-
picking coffee beans for our ancient coffee ceremony and roasting them
into the most amazing elixirs I have ever sipped. I saw my family and
neighbors constantly creating and improvising inside these cultures.
And yet, Ethiopia had plenty of charity “brands”, but not a single global
brand of our own.
With all the incredible culture, history and talent around me, how was it
that we were receiving charity instead of benefitting from our own
talent and resources?
So I set out to change that. I knew that my project had to be truly

business-oriented to overcome the complacency and dependency
charity had created. I wanted to give our community the opportunity to
feel the pride that comes with financing ourselves instead of waiting for
handouts. In early 2005, fresh out of college in Addis Ababa, I founded
my footwear company soleRebels to provide solid community-based
jobs. Tapping into our community’s and the nation's rich artisan wealth
and heritages, I started re-imagining what footwear could be.
People kept telling me that I must be crazy. Nothing world-class had
ever emerged from our community. What did I know about shoes
anyway? I was scared. I didn’t have anything backing me up if I failed.
I was from this community and I needed to make this work as much as
the people I was working with.
And so, I set up a workshop on my grandmother’s plot in the village of

Zenabework with five other workers. Despite the humble surroundings,
we had a grand idea and vision.
We aimed from day one to create, grow and control a world-class

footwear brand that would craft creative and comfortable footwear
while generating more jobs and growing prosperity for our workers;
and all this from our own community by leveraging its artisan skills and
the natural resources of the nation. We wanted to show people that it
is possible to be local and at the same time globally successful. Our
vision created an intoxicating sense of motivation and ambition among
our team who stayed rack focused on creating something world class. I
am proud to say that since 2005, we have been building strong,
vibrant, creative communities by delivering world-class footwear.
But why is our story so important? I believe that the best road to true
and lasting prosperity lies in communities that produce world class
products that leverage local talents and resources. Ethiopia, and Africa
in general, desperately needs more trade and not aid or charity. Only
then, with sufficient financial resources evenly spread, can we begin to
bask in the self-satisfaction that comes from financing the solutions to
our own problems and not having them financed from outside.
So here we are. They laughed and we scaled our brand. Pair by pair we
became the first ever direct to consumer brand to emerge from a
developing nation – selling our brand via ecommerce before ecommerce
was huge, and opening branded retail stores around the world.
When people tell you to stop dreaming big, stop and remember that girl
from a small neighborhood no one ever heard or cared about. Then
smile, turn around and dream EVEN BIGGER than before. Then go and
make that dream real.

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Background story about her product

Basically, SoleRebels produces footwear locally that often features a strong infusion

SoleRebels manufactures comfy sandals, slip-ons and lace-up shoes hand-crafted

When I started soleRebels many people laughed and said I was crazy.

To tell you the truth, sometimes I felt like we were crazy.

I was born and raised in the Zenabwork/Total suburb of Addis Ababa,

So I set out to change that. I knew that my project had to be truly

And so, I set up a workshop on my grandmother’s plot in the village of

We aimed from day one to create, grow and control a world-class

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