In Ethiopia, recycling is a way of life. Ethiopians have been recycling for years without ever calling it recycling because when resources are limited, everything is valued and valuable. Together with scarcity, ineffective policies or regulations and poor infrastructure typically hinder the ability of businesses to grow and develop. Ethiopia is no exception; however, a maker of ecology-friendly shoes in Ethiopia is slowly reversing this trend and becoming the country’s first successful fair-trade footwear company. Started by Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu in 2005, SoleRebels has grown from a small operation to a major employer in an impoverished community of Addis Ababa. Their range of eco-shoes are handmade using organic cotton and recycled tires. A tiny initiative that has extended to major distribution on Amazon.com and Urban Outfitters, SoleRebels fuses the concept of business and trade to leverage positive change in the region.
When Alemu began her “green business,” she sought to maximize the available resources around her while at the same time providing a community with employment opportunity and private sector development. SoleRebels has supplied over 40 people from the Addis Ababa community with full-time dignified and well-paying work, and a further 100 part-time jobs. Through supplier networks and subcontractors, they have created an additional 55 jobs in areas such as the supply of inputs including hand-spun cotton and hand-loomed fabric. And this is just the beginning.
SoleRebels assists workers to purchase their own homes, provides financial support for education efforts, and also funds other entrepreneurship initiatives in the community. For instance, their program “Growing Green” funds organic gardens in the local community that are run by community entrepreneurs, using a portion of the profits generated from sales. The garden entrepreneurs in turn sell their products locally and their payback for SoleRebels’ funding is in the form of a certain amount of produce that they supply for the company’s workers at no cost. Alemu sees this as a great way to promote local entrepreneurs and commerce while giving something of ongoing value to her workers.
Starting a business requires more than just having an idea and being willing to take a risk. If an entrepreneur is to succeed, he or she needs to have basic entrepreneurial skills, such as knowing how to manage finances and communicate well. The need for effective entrepreneurial training is even more profound in countries where traditional educational systems rarely provide it even on the basic level. In such environments, there is a need to foster an entrepreneurial culture, introducing entrepreneurial principles not only within the general population, but also among government officials. As countries move toward free-market economies, entrepreneurial culture and education play a more prominent role in development. SoleRebels is living proof.
Published Date: December 14, 2009