The impact entrepreneurship programme TGB, Ethiopia launched the Designing Market Success - Fashion Bootcamp & Idea Competition for transferring knowledge and strategies to Ethiopian impact start-ups and SMEs in the fashion, textile and accessories sectors, it took place on 19th and 20th May 2021.
The goal was to help companies to improve market access, expand their businesses reach, raise their impact and create jobs along their supply chain – even in times of a pandemic.
MELA FOR HER is a social startup enterprise that transforms women and girls’ lives across Ethiopia by providing them with access to affordable and eco-friendly menstrual products. MELA (መላ) in Amharic means SOLUTION. The company was created with the foremost objective of bringing concrete solutions to Ethiopian girls and women. As part of our comprehensive approach to promote sustainable menstrual solutions to end period poverty, we also conduct research, raise awareness, educate, and advocate for menstrual health and hygiene, sexual and reproductive rights.
www.melaforher.com
Tigist Seife Haile is the designer and founder of Root in Style, a high-end leather product brand made in Ethiopia. The brand vision is promoting African culture through its designs and also exhibit an Ethiopian made quality, sustainability and craftWOMENSHIP to the world by making Root in style product accessible internationally. Root in Style products are 100% handmade by women artisans. Since, one of major brand value is empowering women in process of making quality product; Root in Style contentiously work on creating job for women and also train unprivileged women’s an artisanal skill to sustain their earning in the future. Root in Style have been working on sustainability by upcycling its production waste by making different products like upcycled bags, rags, gift items, pillow covers and more for the past 5 years. Currently, the brand is working on adding additional product line to its upcycled line which will make the upcycling process contentious in volume and also contribute to the environment by collecting other leather producing company’s leather waste and converting it to a unique shoe.
www.rootinstyle.com
It all started in 2009. A young woman, by the name of Meron Seid, with a passion for design, was driven to utilize her background in design and passion for leather bags. This paved the way for the birth of Leather Exotica. Leather exotica rebranded as MERON ADDIS ABABA would become a leader in the leather products industry. It is a brand built on authentic designs and handcrafted details. Meron has always emphasized the importance of supporting women and 80% of the employees are women. In her latest venture, she will be creating job opportunities for skilled women in the practice of upcycling leather products.
https://www.meronaddisababa.com/
Kunjina’s passion for fashion started while she was a little girl that liked to play around in her mother’s closet. Whenever she gets free time, she always liked to develop her skills and knowledge about the fashion industry. Kunjina established her brand KUNJINA after taking a short fashion course while she was a fourth year Engineering student. KUNJINA is a ready-to-wear brand that makes comfortable and stylish pieces for people within the age range of 20-40. What makes KUNJINA unique is we narrate stories of our inspiration on the garments using crafted details like hand painting, embroidery and fabric manipulation. We usually work on concepts from the founder/creative director’s personal experience because we believe that when the idea is personal the output is always true and authentic.
Fozia Endrias is a young entrepreneur who works as a fashion designer. Her background in architecture has served as a source of influence for her fashion. She graduated first in her class in fashion design at Next Fashion Design School. In 2016, she also won the final year competition organized by the school. She founded the brand, FOZIA ENDRIAS, in 2017 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The brand works on sustainable fashion products; casual wear and accessories, using Ethiopian cotton and produced by women. About 85% of the materials, they use are sourced locally.
Fozia believes that sustainability is the issue of humanity. Fozia believes in the power of humanity, time, and creativity. Thus, the brand’s core values are tied with these three elements. Humanity is where it starts - the belief that we have to exist for all the others to make sense. She says that we have to be conscious of the things we do, think about the generations to come, and the world-at-large. Thus, with her brand, they are creating consciousness about their surroundings and giving thought to what they do and how they do it. This thought contributes to the safe-being of our planet and the human race. She believes that our actions reflect the period we live in now, and they will be the basis for the next era to come.
www.foziaendrias.com
Eyerusalem Kenea is a founder and creative director of Liluyan crafts that produces environment friendly fashion accessories and promotional items. Liluyan is a social business that aimed to provide skills and jobs with a flexible working hour and sustainable fair income for single mothers.
Liluyan means a unique community and it's a Ge'ez word. The brand is leveraging the artisan's skills of local community and resources to express the authentic and unique nuances of African touch contemporary design with the sense of Back To Origin.
The first day of the online workshop will focus on production optimization and improving product quality in general, fostering collaborations and partnerships, defining successful financing strategies and improving marketing and trend scouting to boost your reach. Details and finally selected business experts will be extended here soon. Stay tuned!
Ann McCreath has lived in Kenya since 1992. She is the founder of fashion heritage brand KikoRomeo, set up in 1996 in Kenya to stimulate employment and promote traditional craft skills. She has an MA Hons from University of Edinburgh, a Diploma in Fashion from KOEFIA in Rome and over three decades of experience in the fashion industry. A pioneer entrepreneur in sustainable fashion, McCreath continues to design, while mentoring young designers and consulting for fashion industry players. She is on the board of the Kenya Fashion Council and an advisor to Fashion Revolution Kenya.
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Max Gilgenmann is a creative strategist, communicator and co-founder of the consulting studio MM04. They develop contemporary strategies for future activities of authorities and associations as well as brands and corporate players. Studio MM04 acts as fluent cross-disciplinary translators e.g., between fashion and sustainability or expert knowledge and mainstream. Studio MM04 orchestrates holistic communication concepts and sustainability strategies. Additionally, to projects for clients like the Neonyt trade show, they also initiate their own projects like the 202030 Summit that just launched during last Berlin Fashion Week. In his spare time Max also acts as chairperson for the NGO future fashion forward e.V that coordinates the global Fashion Revolution campaign in Germany.
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View 202030summit Website
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Michaela Engst is the founder of the fashion brand ENGST which introduces the consumer to a sustainable, reduced and thoughtful way of dressing. The textiles are organic, re- or up-cycled, ethically made and produced locally. In January 2019 she took on the role as Country Coordinator of Fashion Revolution Ethiopia, a global movement that is campaigning for a clean, safe, fair, transparent and accountable fashion industry. Currently she is also working on a workshop brand COLLECTIVE CREATIVE which has been hosting creative and textile design workshops.
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Binyam Mesfin is a development and investment finance consultant with over 20 years of experience, with particular emphasis on private sector development and job creation. He advises the Investing for Employment (IFE), an investment facility created by KfW Development Bank, on private and public sector project financing. Binyam is also a member of the implementation committee for the Emergency Jobs Protection Facility (EJPF), a fund set up by the Germany, UK, and Ethiopia to protect jobs in Ethiopia’s textile and garments industry from the impacts of COVID-19 while supporting the country’s economic recovery.
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The panel will consist of the 5 winners “Designing Market Success- Fashion Bootcamp” idea competition. The winners will discuss creative ways to improve business in crisis. There will also be a Q & A with the participants.
The winners who impressed the Jury with their very inspiring ideas are:
Tigist Seife Haile, Root in Style
www.rootinstyle.com
Meron Seid, Meron Addis Ababa
https://www.meronaddisababa.com/
Kaleab Getaneh, MELAFORHER
www.melaforher.com
Kunjina Tesfaye, KUNJINA
Fozia Endrias Hussen, FOZIA ENDRIAS
www.foziaendrias.com
Eyerusalem Kenea Liluyans
The second day of the online workshop will focus on how to successfully enter new markets. Fashion experts from our TGB network will show you how to develop a holistic communication strategy, how to scale your sales or how to navigate the import of materials and export of your products. Details and finally selected business experts will be extended here soon. Stay tuned!
José Koopman has over 25 years of experience in the fashion industry. She is an expert in the field of sustainable clothing and textile production. She advises and trains brands and producers on how to set up or expand their business and how to make their production more sustainably in a practical way.
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Mo Drescher is a creative director with over 20 years of experience in the luxury & lifestyle sector. He has been working for international big brands like adidas, Nike and Mercedes-Benz. As a so called "cradle-to-cradle" design ambassador, his mission is to teach companies a holistic, economic and social framework that aims to create products or brands that are not only efficient but also waste free. After years in this field, he developed a specialized communication strategy, called Innovation Positive™ for luxury & lifestyle brands that want to advance into the world of sustainability.
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Thimo Schwenzfeier manages the Marketing and Press department within the Textiles & Textile Technologies division at Messe Frankfurt. He assumes responsibility for all media relations for the international textile trade fairs such as Techtextil, Texprocess, Heimtextil as well as the sustainable fashion fair Neonyt. Thimo takes over additional responsibility as Show Director Neonyt, carrying out his duties in all fields related to a physical or digital presence of Neonyt as well as the international conference Fashionsustain. In 2019, Neonyt became one of Messe Frankfurt’s 60 textile trades fairs worldwide that actively integrate the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and incorporates them in various formats.
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Muluken Zewdu has over 16 years of experience in the financial sector. He is a trainer and practitioner regularly working with Ethiopia’s Chamber of Commerce, to train their members on topics that range from Import & Export Trading to International Banking and IFRS. Since 2019 he has led the trading firm Kelilullah Trading PLC as General Manager, a company that works in the import/ export and distribution of goods.
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Mahlet Afework from Mafi Mafi
Mafi is the Founder and Creative Director of MAFI MAFI, an Addis Ababa-based sustainable fashion brand founded in 2011 with a vision to merge the richness of ancient Ethiopian culture with ready-to-wear apparel. MAFI MAFI uses hand-woven cloth made by local artisan weavers to craft versatile, utilitarian, and accessible luxury pieces. As a designer, Mafi is inspired by early childhood memories of her mother, a seamstress, embroidering and selling traditional textiles to community members for special occasions. Her own designs and entrepreneurial acumen emerged during Mafi's short-lived rap career, when a gap in Ethiopia's urban streetwear market limited her ability to style music videos. Today, MAFI MAFI is a social enterprise celebrated for empowering and upskilling young artisan weavers, designers, seamstresses, pattern makers, and factory workers with employment, liveable wages, fair trade agreements, and apprenticeships. Mafi leads a 64-strong team at her in-house workshop, 90% of which are young women. Mafi won the Origin Africa design award at the 2012 African Fashion Week New York, and the Creative Futures Award in 2017. Her designs have been coveted on runways in Addis, Paris, New York, Berlin and Milan. Her TEDx Talk is a masterclass on futurizing African heritage for social impact.
https://www.mafimafiet.com
Azariah Mengistu from Enzi Footwear
Azariah Mengistu is Co-Founder and CEO of ENZI Footwear. ENZI is a premium brand manufacturing hand-crafted footwear in Ethiopia and is a part of the new narrative of African creative, craftsmanship and enterprise. The brand was founded by childhood friends Jawad Braye and Azariah Mengistu who grew up together in Kenya. From day one they committed to developing a luxury product in Africa that maximized its positive social impact while minimizing its environmental impact. Needless to say, there were many challenges along the way, but they persevered with the belief they could create something that didn’t exist. After 5 years of failed production runs with existing factories, they took the large step of faith to set up their own production operation. From a garage in Addis Ababa, they managed to export products to customers all over the world and worked with influential retailers in leading markets. Their humble operation has been featured by CNN, L’Obs and short-listed as one of the best independent footwear brands by GQ. What was a dream over 11 years ago is now a reality, and they have created a powerful proof of concept that shatters perceptions of African capacity.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/azariah-mengistu-mengistu-a56485144/
https://enzi.com
https://vimeo.com/453696387
Hortense Mbea from Afropian and the TGB Accelerator
Hortense Mbea is the Founder and Creative Director of Afropian. A global nomad, Hortense lived and studied in countries around the world before moving to Ethiopia to start a career as an interpreter. After a successful 15-year career, she decided to rekindle her love affair with art and creativity and couple it with her passion for Africa. She took several courses and trained with artisans in Côte d’Ivoire. In 2017, Afropian was born. Africa is the wind beneath Hortense’s wings, an endless source of inspiration. Hortense wants us all to "wear africa proudly"!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hortense-mbea-5a72a818a/
https://afropian.co
Genet Kebede from Paradise Fashion and the TGB Evolver
Genet Kebede is the founder & Creative Director of Paradise Fashion, a well-known fashion brand in Ethiopia, established in 1992. Genet founded the company after studying fashion design and garment construction in Argentina and Italy. Her designs have now perfected the art of merging traditional Ethiopian handwoven textiles with modern techniques and contemporary design trends. Our Vision: We strive to be a global leader in Ethiopian authentic handmade fashion by empowering women and design to provide total customer satisfaction; defining style and creating desire for unique authentic hand made products, now and forever. Genet has received different awards and certificates.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/genet-kebede-12568325/
https://paradisefashion.net
Ann McCreath from KikoRomeo
Ann McCreath has lived in Kenya since 1992. She is the founder of fashion heritage brand KikoRomeo, set up in 1996 in Kenya to stimulate employment and promote traditional craft skills. She has an MA Hons from University of Edinburgh, a Diploma in Fashion from KOEFIA in Rome and over three decades of experience in the fashion industry. A pioneer entrepreneur in sustainable fashion, McCreath continues to design, while mentoring young designers and consulting for fashion industry players. She is on the board of the Kenya Fashion Council and an advisor to Fashion Revolution Kenya.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ann-mccreath-1595054/
https://kikoromeo.com
Jochen Moninger
Jochen has been working for over 15 years with African enterprises on scale-up models in low-income markets. He holds a masters in Human Geography and Economics as well as an EMBA. Since April 2020 he implements a SME grant facility in Ethiopia for SEQUA that supports Ethiopian SMEs in the field of textile and agri-business to improve their market position concerning product quality, diversification, market linkages and access to finance
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jochen-moninger-18025b11b/
www.impacc.org
https://www.sequa.de/en/
Meheret Zelleke Nigatu will be moderating the “Designing Market Success” on both days. Meheret is a French and English interpreter, a radio presenter and editor based in Addis Ababa. She has over 20 years of experience talking to the people and asking the right questions. In 2010 Meheret started at Afro 105.3FM. Currently she is working at EBC Radio 104.7FM hosting the news and various shows.
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