Though based in Los Angeles, USA, Della is a fashion line that features clothing items and accessories that are handcrafted by a community of over 50 women employees in Ghana. Bethlehem and her inspiring success story with SoleRebels have been featured severally on Forbes, the BBC and CNN. A few years ago, SoleRebels became the first footwear company in the world to be certified by the World Fair Trade Organisation.īethlehem was selected as the Young Global Leader of the Year 2011 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and was a winner at the Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship in the same year. SoleRebels’ footwear are unique because they are 100 percent made by hand using locally-sourced and recycled materials like old car tyres and hand-loomed organic fabrics. Today, Solerebels has more than 100 employees and nearly 200 local raw material suppliers, and has opened several standalone retail outlets in North America, Europe and Asia.ĭespite its very humble beginnings, SoleRebels now makes up to $1 million in sales every year, and according to Bethlehem’s projections and expansion plans, the company could be making up to $10 million in sales by 2016. She came up with her business idea after she noticed most of the artisans in her community, who made beautiful footwear, remained jobless and poor. SoleRebels is arguably the most popular and fastest-growing African footwear brand in the world! It’s no surprise we featured it in our recent book “ 101 Ways To Make Money in Africa.” It sells its ‘eco-friendly’ brand of footwear in more than 50 countries including the USA, Canada, Japan and Switzerland.īethlehem Alemu started SoleRebels in 2004 with less than $10,000 in capital she raised from family members. Let’s meet the top 10 Made-in-Africa footwear brands… You’ll also see the amazing African entrepreneurs who are applying their talents, creativity and hardwork to make these brands successful around the world.
In this article, you’ll see how 10 “Made-in-Africa” footwear brands are taking the continent by storm. As more countries join in, the value of Africa’s footwear industry could grow to $1 billion in the next decade. In 2013 alone, Ethiopia earned over $30 million from shoe exports, which ranks it ninth in the global leather goods industry. Ethiopia, for example, is already home to more than 30 tanneries and several manufacturers that produce shoes and other leather goods for both the local and export markets. Africa is also richly endowed with the raw materials, impressive talent and affordable labour that gives it the edge to build a multi-billion dollar footwear industry.Īfrican countries like Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria (just to mention a few) are leading the footwear revolution on the continent.
It’s not just the size of Africa’s market that’s attractive to the footwear industry.
With a population of over one billion people, footwear is one of the fast and emerging business opportunities in Africa. We don’t just buy them to protect our feet shoes are a popular way to express our style and fashion sense.
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