Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, the Ethiopian entrepreneur behind global footwear brand soleRebels, has been named among 100 of Africa’s most accomplished and influential women honored at the ARISE Africa Women of Impact Awards on International Women’s Day this year.
The recognition places Bethlehem alongside an elite cross-section of African leaders from Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Sudan, Côte d’Ivoire, and Niger, spanning governance, business, law, healthcare, technology, and creative industries. The ARISE honor adds to an extensive list of international accolades Bethlehem has accumulated over two decades of entrepreneurship.
Bethlehem founded soleRebels in 2005 in the Zenebework area of Addis Ababa, drawing on her community’s artisan traditions and Ethiopia’s heritage of recycled tire-soled foot wear. The company has grown into Africa’s largest footwear brand, distributing to 55 countries through partnerships with Whole Foods, Urban Outfitters, and Amazon, with company-owned stores across multiple continents.
Her business philosophy centers on creating “world class jobs” and shifting the discourse on African development from poverty alleviation to prosperity creation driven by local talent and resources. She was the first female African entrepreneur to address the Clinton Global Initiative and has advised the World Bank and UN on trade policy.
Bethlehem has expanded into multiple ventures including Garden of Coffee, which CNN called “Africa’s answer to Starbucks,”
The Republic of Leather, payment platform Giza Digital, and food brand TeffTastic. In May 2021, she launched Selam Bank with US$116.3 million in capital, aiming to “create the largest generation of homeowners in Ethiopian history”.
Through her Made by Ethiopia public-private partnership, Bethlehem has helped create over 100,000 jobs and generated more than US$1 billion in export revenue.