Cabana Design is a entrepreneurship experiment that was born from a hobby that is done outside of regular work and has given employment and hope to a few people.
Cabana Design, which was Semhal Guesh’s part-time business, now has more than 100 employees and, in addition to producing and exporting desirable skin products, has created opportunities for countless female professionals.
Semhal, who grew up in Addis Ababa, was making handmade jewelry from leather scraps while studying architecture at university before starting Cabana Leather seven years ago.
After graduating from university, she was employed by an architecture firm. The three businesses she started side by side with other friends did not succeed as she wanted; But she never stopped trying.
When Semhal started Cabana Leather in her spare time making leather bags, she decided to make it her full-time job after seeing the positive impact it had on the life of the first woman she hired.
“When I started it was a hobby; But when I started hiring permanent staff and paying salaries, one of them started paying not only for herself, but also for her younger sister’s education. She used to say, ‘This is my first salary as a permanent employee’,” she recalled.
The woman who first hired Semhal, despite her limited skills and knowledge in the field, saw her life improve and her self-confidence improve by teaching her how to cut and sew leather. “When I hired five people, I resigned from my regular job,” she said.
She explained to the BBC that another reason for her work is to help women who are vulnerable to various problems in their lives, especially those who raise their children alone and women who have been displaced, gain economic independence and break their living barriers.
She not only earns profit by investing in this field, but also takes it as a social responsibility and commitment to change people’s lives.
According to the company’s website, in the first four years of its establishment, it has made significant changes, not only providing customers with access to high-quality Ethiopian leather fashion products, but also joining the global market.
