Oliberté Launches 1st Urban-Casual Shoe Company Made in Africa

Headquarted in Canada, Oliberté has launched the first international footwear company to work exclusively in Africa. Designs for men and women shoes are urban-casual inspired and sold online and in select stores this Fall in Canada and the United States. Initial styles include ROVIA (Men) and ELIKA (Women) which retail for $95-120 are sleek and have colourful pop with Oliberté`s signatures including thin crepe rubber soles and circles throughout designs.

The rubber for Oliberté footwear comes from natural milk from rubber trees that have been tapped in Liberia. Liberia has the largest amount of natural rubber in Africa, but because of decades of civil unrest, it has been difficult to work in this West African Country. Today, Liberia is moving forward and Oliberté is thrilled to work with the country in creating local jobs and the first to process its rubber into natural crepe soles. The shoes themselves are manufactured in Ethiopia which has the largest selection of natural hides in Africa and a growing footwear manufacturing industry. By 2015, Oliberté looks to work in over 10 countries in Africa to source material, accessories and manufacture its shoes that will be sold from Canada to USA to Europe to Australia to Japan.

Launched in 2009, Oliberté Limited is headquartered in Canada and founded by Tal Dehtiar, who, in 2004, launched the international charity MBAs Without Borders (MWB) that supports small businesses in Africa, Asia and Latin America. MWB was recently acquired by CDS Development Solutions but for his work, Tal was recognized with the International Youth Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award and nominated for the YMCA Peace Award, Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 and Ernst and Yong’s Social Entrepreneur of the Year.

(Source) Press

No related posts.