In the Spotlight: Some inspiring women entrepreneurs from Ethiopia
#WomenEntrepreneurs #EthiopiaBusiness #Trailblazers #StartupSuccess #EconomicGrowth
Ethiopia’s entrepreneurial landscape is experiencing a powerful transformation. This is happening with women stepping up as leaders, innovators, and changemakers. Across diverse industries – from agriculture and manufacturing to technology and social enterprises, women entrepreneurs are not only building successful businesses, but also challenging societal norms, creating jobs & contributing to national economic growth.
Trailblazing Women Entrepreneurs Driving Ethiopia’s Future
Despite facing barriers such as limited access to funding, cultural expectations & market challenges, these enterprising women have persevered with resilience and creativity. Their businesses are making a remarkable impact – whether by providing employment, introducing new products or championing sustainability.
With growing support from government initiatives, private sector partnerships, and international programs, women entrepreneurs in Ethiopia are poised for even greater success. Organizations like the Women Entrepreneurs Development Project (WEDP) and the Ethiopian Women’s Business Association (EWBA) are equipping female founders with the mentorship, training & capital needed to scale their businesses.
From Vision to Reality: Enterprising Women Entrepreneurs of Ethiopia
As more Ethiopian women embrace entrepreneurship, they are not just shaping their own futures! They are also paving the way for the next generation of female business leaders. Here, we spotlight some of Ethiopia’s most inspiring women entrepreneurs who are redefining success and making an indelible mark on the nation’s economy.
> Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, Founder & Executive Director, soleRebels
Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu is an Ethiopian businesswoman, Founder & Executive Director of soleRebels, which has been noted as Africa’s “fastest growing footwear company”.
From very modest beginnings in the neighbourhood where she grew up in Addis Ababa, she has built up a successful brand and, is now selling online & exporting globally through major retailers too. She explained that soleRebels began as an idea: to bring jobs to the community, Zenabwork, a small village in Addis, where her family and neighbours had struggled to make ends meet. The aim was – to harness the community’s incredible artisan skills and channel them into a sustainable, global, fair trade footwear business.
She has also been collecting a number of young entrepreneur’s awards for soleRebels, the shoe business she set up in 2005; and it was also the first ever footwear company to be Fair Trade certified.
> Saba & Selamawit Alene, Owners, St George Gallery
The sisters Saba and Selamawit Alene, set up the first ever art gallery in Ethiopia, after deciding not to leave their country, in search of a better life overseas. Today, they run the St George’s art gallery, the most prestigious gallery of Ethiopian art and antique furniture in the country, and have also opened a sister gallery in the US.
Saba Alene opened Ethiopia’s first art gallery, St. George Gallery, in 1990; she won the WIPO Gold Medal in 2005. Her sister Selamawit Alene manages the Addis gallery, which also has a branch now in Washington DC. The art reflects Ethiopia’s rich culture and heritage – ranging from handicrafts and fabrics to design and music.
Since Ethiopian traditional paintings and furniture became increasingly more popular with US customers, they decided to open a second gallery rather than export individual items – Addis gallery. Their story started against all odds about 20 years ago. Saba was passionate about Ethiopian furniture and art and started to restore old pieces, with a view of selling them. As she to design her own furniture line based on traditional Ethiopian style, and it has since become very popular due to the recent restriction on sales of antique furniture to protect Ethiopia’s heritage.
> Hiruth Gougsa, Founder, MELA
Hiruth Gougsa set up her own business making handbags in Ethiopia, which she sells in her attractive ethnic store in the old airport area. She admitted that St George’s Gallery was her model, as she really like their concept. She produced her brand – MELA. It is an Ethiopian company that produces timeless handmade accessories.
After years of running a catering company (which she still owns but no longer manages), she decided to go for her passion for handbags and clothes. Since she took the jump in 2006, her label, MELA, has really become a benchmark in Addis for handbags and accessories.
In her view, it is not surprising that women entrepreneurs are flourishing in Addis. Today there is a tradition of women running small businesses such as corner shops or food ventures. So, they admitted to take that tradition a step ahead.
> Amakeletch Teferi, Founder, La Parisienne
Amakeletch Teferi is a woman entrepreneur who runs a successful chain of café/bakeries in Addis, and built a new resort-hotel in Adama, a smaller town two hours outside Addis, where city dwellers go for the weekend.
Initially trained as an agronomist, Amakeletch is also running La Parisienne, the still expanding chain of café-bakeries she set up with her family 15 years ago. Today, the family owns four shops and is planning to open a fifth one in town.
> Mitslal Kifleyesus-Matschie, Founder, ECOPIA
Mitslal Kifleyesus-Matschie is the Founder of ECOPIA. After working abroad, a number of years, she decided it was time to come back to Ethiopia and work for her country and her people. So, she set up ECOPIA, a company making organic preserved food and cosmetics. According to her, their core principle is to work with communities of farmers in rural Ethiopia.
Among its most popular products, ECOPIA sells organic fruit jam, soap bars and cosmetics using natural ingredients available locally, which is really due to Ethiopia’s amazingly rich biodiversity. The company also provides extensive training to the farming communities they work with, emphasising the quality of the products In her view, the time invested in training is paying off in product quality and improved livelihoods. ECOPIA has trained about 3,000+ farmers and extension workers all over the country.
> Sishu, Co-owner of Sishu Restaurant
At Sishu you can enjoy American style hamburgers while surrounded by stylish 60’s vintage decor. The Co-owner, Sishu, has made design a priority and that is the reason why people like to spend time here.
Sishu, a young woman in her 30s has set up with her partner a new concept of restaurants in Addis, which has since become one of the most popular eateries in town. Everything in the restaurant is made for customers to feel at ease and all the food served is organic and home -made. Everything is designed to make them feel at home, she shared.
Avtar Madan
Himanshu
Shree Lahiri
