Sole Rebels

 Sole Rebels is without a doubt one of Africa's most notable and fastest-growing footwear brands. Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu founded SoleRebels Company in 2004 in Ethiopia with less than $10,000 in capital raised from family members. Since the beginning, sole rebels have employed and trained unemployed Ethiopian youths by allowing them to start their own businesses. The company has also modified traditional Ethiopian "selate" and "barabasso" shoes, which are also known as recycled car tire sole shoes. She developed her business idea after noticing that the majority of the artisans in her community who made beautiful footwear remained impoverished. She decided to change the business by combining recycled, organic, and bio-based materials.

 They leverage their unique heritage to build a global and market-leading eco-ethical brand. Everything they  do is aimed at applying the unique cultural arts we have practiced here in Ethiopia for millennia. they do so in fresh, dynamic new fashions thereby both preserving important cultural assets and offering their customers incredibly cool and stylish shoes to wear!

Employees are soleRebels' most valuable asset, and they are committed to providing the tools and support they require to thrive and succeed. They are committed to paying wages that allow workers and their families to live comfortably, and, most importantly, to creating jobs in Ethiopia.

They eliminate the middleman and direct funds directly to their employees. Because there is no middleman to absorb profits, soleRebels can maximize profits, which means more and better-paying jobs are created for the community, more foreign exchange is netted for the country, and more development can be funded.

They give their employees and their families the tools they need to break the cycle of poverty.