Page 44 - Sustainability and entrepreneurship for CSO's and CSO networks Cambodia 1 November 2018

Case - soleRebels
Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu
PEOPLE LAUGHED AT MY BUSINESS IDEA. NOW I RUN A GLOBAL BRAND
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 marginalised 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 neighbours 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?
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.
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. Our vision created an intoxicating sense of motivation and ambition among our team. 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 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.
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