Semhal Guesh Berhe

2021 Fellowship Alumna, Ethiopia

Women-Empowered Business: From Start-Up to Success

2021 Fellowship Alumna Semhal Guesh, CEO of Kabana Leather.
A product offered at Kabana Leather.

As a CEO with over 100 employees and chairperson of a consortium of 12 small and medium-sized businesses, 2021 Fellowship Alumna Semhal Guesh has the blueprint for business success.

Semhal’s journey to entrepreneurship was not her original career plan. Working with leather started as a hobby. As her hobby developed, Semhal hired a woman to help her with Kabana Leather. Seeing the positive impact it made on the woman’s life motivated her to turn Kabana Leather into a full-time business where she could create opportunities for other women and other vulnerable members of her community. Today, over 80% of Kabana Leather’s employees are women.

Read more about Semhal’s entrepreneurship journey in this YALI Network blog post.

Next Story