BY BETELHEM BEDLU
As part of its celebration around International Women’s Month, Facebook announced on March 3 the launch of ‘LeadHERs: Life Lessons From African Women’, a collection of beautifully inspired stories and life advice from 19 women who are breaking boundaries in fields such as media, entertainment, politics, education and business.
Nunu Ntshingila, Regional Director, Facebook Africa, said: “At Facebook we know that African women are at the helm of shaping the future of our promising continent – they are change makers, mothers and CEOs.
This book is a celebration of just some of the exceptional African women who in their own right are trail-blazers, motivating and inspiring people and advocating for good across Africa, and the world.”
“We are excited about their individual stories, inspired by challenges they have endured and how they have risen above these, and importantly how they have turned these into important life lessons to help inspire others.”
The book, which is available for free in digital and physical format, provides inspirational real-life stories for future generations and young leaders.
Each chapter focuses on a personal experience and life lesson around how these women have navigated their path to success, alongside the challenges they have had to overcome along the way. ‘LeadHERs: Life Lessons from African Women’ is aimed at encouraging, inspiring and guiding the reader – no matter the background, age or ambition.
The women featured in ‘LeadHERs: Life Lessons From African Women’, includes Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu– an Ethiopian business woman, founder and Chief Executive Director of soleRebels, Africa’s “fastest growing footwear company,” Elizabeth Akua Ohene – Journalist and Politician [Ghana], Alice Nkom – Lawyer and Human Rights Activist [Cameroon], Tecla Chemabwai – Athlete and Educator [Kenya], among others.
Bethlehem has received honors and accolades for her business acumen, as well as her efforts to shift the discourse on Africa away from poverty to the continent’s entrepreneurial spirit, social capital, and economic potential. Bethlehem launched “The Republic of Leather”, designing sustainable luxury leather goods, and “Garden of Coffee” retail outlets to promote Ethiopian coffee.
Bethlehem Tilahun is a serial entrepreneur, founding brands which all celebrate her Ethiopian heritage produce and artisans. Her companies include soleRebels, an innovative footwear and apparel company that make products from recycled tyres, inner tubes and organic cotton.
Bringing up with the social values that respect families and the community, she learnt to feel responsible for the welfare of her community.
While she was in college, she used to work for various companies but after a while she developed a strong desire to focus on her business skills in her local community which is one of the most impoverished areas in Addis.
Deep down, she knew that there were so many talented people who could do great things if only given a chance. But, owing to extreme poverty, stigma, marginalization and whole load of other factors, many of them could not even find simple jobs. This was deeply upsetting for her, as they were her neighbors and family members, she knew deserved more.
She also saw the devastating effect that charity has on the wider community, in terms of making people in the community dependent. So, she thought that anything that she did for the community had to be truly business-oriented wanting to give her community the pride that comes with financing themselves and not waiting for donations.
Though she kept hearing the phrase -‘poverty alleviation’ over and over, once she started supporting herself and her brothers, it became clear for her that the phrase she has kept hearing was nothing but a myth instead she thought that building self-confidence, skill and prosperity creation was the answer.
She was inspired to create a successful African; specifically Ethiopian company and show that it is possible to be globally successful through deploying local resources and become successful, which is exactly what they have done when she founded soleRebels.
Garden coffee, the finest hand roasted coffee in personal batches at their origin and a snack company tefftastic, created from Ethiopian-grown teff, all of which have created jobs for her local community.
“Lots of business leaders’ talk about the importance of failure. I did not have that luxury. I was born and raised in the community where I founded and run my business. I had to make these companies work not just for myself but for all those who come to depend on it for their livelihoods. That sense of community behind my business both supporting them with employment and representing them to the world is what drives me every single day.”
With a vision of sharing Ethiopia’s unique culture to the rest of the world, which according to her is a country that is rich in so many heritages that are living and breathing wells of inspiration and resources and talent that can be seen, feel and touch every day, she decided to offer personalized roasting for every order of partisan-picked beans.
Bethlehem was also chosen by the world Economic Forum as a young global leader and has also been included on the Forbes’s list-‘100 most powerful’- as a woman to watch.
This March marks the three year anniversary of Facebook’s #SheMeansBusiness programme in Sub-Saharan Africa, an initiative designed to inspire, empower and train female entrepreneurs across the continent to build, grow and start their own businesses.
As part of this, Facebook is launching a new training component on business resiliency through financial education in Nigeria, South Africa and Senegal, with the additional modules aimed at improving female business owners’ financial management skills, whilst addressing challenges that women entrepreneurs face, such as access to capital.
With over 5,000 copies printed, the book will be provided for free to a number of Facebook’s local training partners including She Leads Africa, Fate Foundation, DigifyAfrica, Siyafunda, and Smart Ecosystems for Women and Co-creation Hub Nigeria (CcHUB). The books will be distributed across 15 countries, including South Africa, Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Liberia, Senegal and Kenya – in schools and to beneficiaries of training(s) offered by Facebook partners.
The Ethiopian Herald March 6/2021
