Semhal Guesh

Founder and CEO of Kabana Leather

Semhal Guesh is the founder and CEO of Kabana Leather, a company producing handmade leather products. She uses her training as an architect to enhance her designs in the leather fashion industry. She also leads a consortium of 12 small and medium enterprises that have repurposed their factories to manufacture personal protective equipment in the fight against COVID-19 with the support of the Mastercard Foundation, thereby saving jobs.

Semhal is driven to economically empower women by recruiting and training women from her community and refugees as Kabana Leather employees, with the goal of transforming their livelihoods and families. In addition, Semhal coaches and mentors other female entrepreneurs. She was named the 2018 Young Female Entrepreneur of the Year by the United Nations Development Programme and Global Entrepreneurship Week. She was selected for President Obama’s Young African Leadership Program 2021 and became an alumna of the Mandela Washington Fellowship. She was also selected among the top 50 finalists for the Africa Business Heroes 2021.