Jennet Lemma is the founder of Gaber Garment, a garment manufacturing social enterprise dedicated to empowering women in Ethiopia. A returnee from the United States, she repurposed her garment factory in April to produce face masks and protective gear. She retained jobs for all of her 75 employees, mostly women, despite the economic downturn caused by the pandemic. Birthed from a passion for fashion, the business is divided into three segments: uniform solutions, branded garments and retail with their main customers ranging between the ages of 18 to 35. Gaber Garment distinguishes themselves as a social enterprise with a notable social impact on empowering women. Jennet believes that their social impact, quality products, attention to details and adaptation of market trends keeps Gaber Garments ahead of competitors.
After living in USA for 12 years, Jennet began contemplated moving back to Ethiopia and wanted to set up a social impact driven business in her home country. Her undeniable passion for clothing and fashion led her to start a garment manufacturing business. In 2016, Gaber Garment was established with the help of her parents who are also shareholders. “Empowering women together” became Gaber Garment’s motto and to live up to this, 95% of their 100 employees on payroll, are women. Of the 95% some are in managerial positions. To ensure that they build a strong internal capacity, they focus on promoting from within and provide internal opportunities for growth through continuous training.
They also partner with Non-profit organisations to teach young women on different topics. Currently, they have partnered with Noble Cup who offer menstrual education and textile training institutes who provide quality training.
the management staff who have been with her almost from inception of the company.
“The most significant challenge in my entrepreneurship journey was getting the business up and running at the implementation. After living in USA for 12 years I got used to things getting done quickly so it was very challenging to get used to the speed of doing business in Ethiopia. For example, getting our machinery and equipment delivered took much longer than expected because of some simple documentation error by the supplier.” Jennet mentioned.
Her advice to other entrepreneurs is they should have a network of other entrepreneurs they can discuss business issues with. Having this network will make it easier to overcome challenges faced. She added that entrepreneurs should not be easily discouraged because sometimes it will feel like the odds are against them, especially in a growing economy.
Jennet joined the Growth Africa Acceleration programme because she believes that, “the time for scaling Gaber is now.” “We have been in operation for the last 3 years and our core team is solid and ready to take things to the next level. So far, I have learned how important it is for me to step away for the daily operations related activities and take time away to strategise and see big picture.” She added. In the next three years she sees Gaber becoming a recognisable garment brand locally as well as expand to other countries in Africa. They plan to open more branches locally and build export partnership.
