Oliberté Footwear, the first show company to make premium shoes in Africa using materials from those countries and creating jobs there, and well-known for its Ethiopian-produced line of shoes for men, women and children, will be launching a new Women’s collection, in collaboration with Boabab Batik, a Swaziland-based enterprise doing business in locally sourced printed fabrics.

The collection will come out in two styles — Kinsha, a lace-up retailing for $100, and the Mbozi, a slip-on at $90; both of which will be available in two colour ways. The collection will be available online from March 28 at Oliberte. This will also the first ever for women. Earlier, Oliberté, which was founded by Canadian entrepreneur Tal Dehtiar as a sustainable brand supporting workers’ rights in sub-Saharan Africa in 2009, had partnered with designer Mark McNairy for a men’s line.

According to a statement issued by Oliberté, the collaboration was “a natural one”, given that both companies aim on promoting social enterprise. With its over 20 years experience in handcrafting uniquely dyed fabrics for scarves, pillows and dolls, its collaboration with Oliberté was definitely a natural one. The Canadian footwear firm now owns its own factory in Addis Ababa, where its entire collection is produced. For this collection, Oliberté has worked closely with Baobab to produce the fabrics, with the help of local workers. Both companies are also Fair Trade Certified, which signifies they are made with respect to people and planet.