An Entrepreneur with a Social Impact
My passion is making a difference. Making the impossible possible!

My Story

Bethlehem BirhaneI am a social entrepreneur, a wife, a mother, and CEO or Entoto Bet Artisan. I was born in Addis Ababa in 1978 in Akaki where I also went to an Adventist school. Akaki is a blue- collar, industrial zone. Growing up I experienced the pain of being poor, to not have money for school or other necessities like sports shoes. My parents lost all their properties and were left with only their house. Their income was also very low, and my mother had to creatively support the family.

I consider my mother very strong and not somebody who gives up easily. Though she was married at 17 with only a sixth-grade education, she established a small, food shop and sold Tela, a traditional, home-made, alcoholic beverage. She never let her daughters give in. That’s how she raised us. She taught us that everything is possible! Her constructive advice guided us. She is my mentor and role model.

I am really grateful for how I was raised. My values of today are those of my childhood. If I hadn’t lived a poor life, I wouldn’t have valued what I do now. I believe life is easier with money. My experience made me stronger and who I am today.

My passion is making a difference, making the impossible possible! This passion started in my early twenties. I finished college and started working as a salesperson at the Ethiopia Tourist Trading Enterprise. My father became ill and we had money challenges, more so because of his sickness. As a wage earner I was expected to contribute even though I earned 375 Birr. The realization of our dire situation motivated me to change my life in a drastic way. That\’s when I started thinking about who I am, where I am going, what my life purpose was, and why was I born in Ethiopia?

I started thinking of what I have in hand, what my talent is and how I can use it. What does Ethiopia have and how can we grow economically? It may seem impossible to make a difference individually, I thought, but together we can change our country for the better. I felt like there\’s something in me, some kind of energy that needs nurturing and to be dug out. It was time to take action. I studied marketing and upgraded mysales skills, carrying on more commission work to improve my income.

The turning point in my life was in 2003 when I received an order for 10,000 banana postcards, which were very popular at the time. My supervisor informed me the most we could make was 2,000 postcards. When I told the customer we had a limit, he suggested I do it myself. I thought, “Why not?” An added motivation was that my father was really sick and needing more money. Immediately starting research, I realized the cards were easy to make. If we are going to create jobs, we have to be innovative. I decided God has shown me this to start filling the gap instead of feeling discouraged. I wrote my ideas in a journal. “My country is poor. There are a lot of unemployed people. There are a lot of opportunities but there\’s no

one making it happen so the person to make this happen is me!”

My mother always brought money she earned and spent it on the family whereas my father always spent it on something else. Witnessing her behavior helped me understand the differences between men and women in nurturing. Therefore, I decided to focus more on women, reading psychology books and researching more on how to make an impact starting from nothing. But I kept questioning my motive and if my passion was heartfelt. Getting an answer for all those questions took me 2 years. I decided to start work on women with HIV/AIDS because of the time.

Another opportunity opened up when the organization I was working with moved to the airport, exposing me to people from different countries, various ideas, and desires. Our customers were more interested in local products. That crystallized my business objective and I worked on expanding my network. I decided to work for myself, regardless of the doubt people had, especially a woman making it in the business world. I had no money but hope!

The first step was to rent a store and the best place I determined was the airport. It was a challenge as we failed the bidding process several times. While this was going on, I rented a small showcase at The Hilton and started selling small pieces of jewelry bought from Merkato. In 2009 we won a bid for our first store at the airport with a high price tag that we had to go in debt.

What we started was so successful it paid our debt in six months and I realized my childhood dream of affording a luxurious life. Still, I constantly thought about giving to the community working through women. Beza Entoto outreach, an NGO training disadvantaged women on making jewelry, came as a solution. However, the project was phasing out with 108 women affected by HIV/AIDS and nowhere to go. I saw a perfect match to expand my business.

In January 2012, Entoto Bet Artisan, got registered and I hired all 108 women, then expanded to 25 more employees. To take on such a huge expansion was not financial feasible but with the help of my family members I was able to succeed. We gave the women additional training. It was such a tough time but we managed and started working. Bet Artisan started exporting to America and participating in NGO bazaars. We have a display room behind the Egyptian Embassy and a shop in the airport. Bet Artisan makes hand-made, contemporary jewelry.

Our organization utilized another project with CAWEE connecting 1,500 women to the export market in partnership with the former first lady, W/ro Roman. The project trained women on making leather bags, spinning and weaving. Bet Artisan hired 82 of those trained, expanding our business beyond jewelry. What is so important about this is its focus on fair-trade.

We have created work opportunities for 250 people so far out of which 200 are women. Our next plan is to start leatherwork in Ethiopia and employ more people from Entoto. Bet Artisan also buys baskets from 40 women we have an agreement with in Axum and do business with 25 other groups of artisans. I think we can work more on the tourist sector,

which can bring hard currency. We need to work more on minimum wage if we want to change people’s livelihood.

I wish to show that women can be productive and successful given the opportunity. My major achievement is witnessing all those women’s lives changed. Seeing the women carry bags they made, having their own income, using transportation like the train, and having condominiums is a meaningful contribution to the community. After all, as they say, empowering a woman is empowering a community. My motto is stick to your vision and you\’ll win!

What do they say about Bethlehem?

Bethlehem is really exceptional. Betty’s work is as a social enterprise. She works for profit but she reinvests it all on the women living with HIV/AIDS. She pays them a good salary and provides different facilities. I would say she has completely changed their lives! Her vision is unique. It\’s rare to find young people who are committed to their mission and are role models. She\’s putting her money, knowledge, and concern for a cause. She’s a wife, a mother of two, and juggles other social responsibilities. To be able to manage and run a balanced life shows her organizational skills and her strength. She is one of our role models.

Nigist Haile, founder and executive director of CAWEE

Betty is focused, persistent, strong, assertive in achieving her dreams and stubborn when it comes to her visions. She also has endurance. She\’s not the kind of person who just gives orders. Her leadership style is service-oriented. She\’s a role model for her employees.

I am lucky to have her as a life partner. Her vision is to be economically powerful so that she shares her fortune with others.

Samuel Zegeye, her husband