Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu grew up in Zenabwork, a community on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, and studied management before deciding to build a business specifically designed to create local employment using traditional Ethiopian skills.
In 2005, Alemu founded soleRebels, a footwear company built entirely on traditional Ethiopian craftsmanship techniques and recycled materials, including car tyres repurposed into shoe soles using traditional artisan methods. soleRebels became the first African footwear brand to open retail stores internationally, expanding into markets across the world while maintaining production entirely within Ethiopia and paying wages significantly above industry standard.
Alemu has continued building soleRebels while advocating for African manufacturing and fair trade practices, becoming a widely recognised voice for sustainable, locally-rooted African entrepreneurship on the global stage.
We wanted to prove that world-class products could be made in Africa, by Africans, for the world.
Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu's soleRebels demonstrated that a genuinely sustainable, locally-rooted African manufacturing business could achieve authentic international success, becoming a model for ethical, craftsmanship-based entrepreneurship rooted specifically in African tradition.
- 1980Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
- 2005Founds soleRebels, using traditional Ethiopian craftsmanship and recycled materials.
- 2000s–2010sBuilds soleRebels into an internationally recognised footwear brand.
- 2012soleRebels becomes the first African footwear brand to open international retail stores.
- ★ Founded soleRebels, the first African footwear brand to open international retail stores
- ★ Built a manufacturing model paying wages significantly above industry standard
- ★ Pioneered sustainable footwear using recycled materials and traditional Ethiopian craftsmanship
- ★ Maintained production entirely within Ethiopia while achieving genuine global market reach