Photo: PR
Handbags full of donations
Buy a handbag and do something good at the same time - it could not be any better! Annika Busse and Andrea Noelle went freelance with the accessories label "beliya" to make the world a little better. Great, we think - and talked to the women entrepreneurs about their idea.
The purchase of the shopper "Joy" finances the school books for a child for a year, for the clutch "Love" there's a year of school uniform and the phone cover pays the school bus. "After just one year, we have already sold 1, 500 bags and accessories throughout Germany, " say Annika Busse and Andrea Noelle from Beliya. Already 300 children at the partner schools in Namibia, Burundi and Tanzania are allowed one year of school.
The kick-off for the own pocket label with charity background was the joint doctoral thesis ten years ago. Annika Busse and Andrea Noelle researched in their business studies what microcredits that are given to poor people can have a positive effect. "At that time, we wanted to develop a business model for these children, " they say.
In the meantime, the Hamburg women worked at international companies such as Jil Sander, Mulberry, Beiersdorf or Henkel. "There, we learned what matters in customer service, design, sales, brand building, etc. Every experience has become part of beliya, " say Annika Busse and Andrea Noelle, "our standards are very high."
Beliya production uses so-called "de luxe" upcycling materials. The high-quality and at the same time sustainable substances are remainders from other branches of industry that come from surpluses of designer houses such as Armani, Valentino, Chanel or Burberry.
"Our design is made for self-confident women who are in the midst of life, who know what they want and who consciously deal with their environment, " say Annika Busse and Andrea Noelle.
For 2014, the designers have big plans: "We are working on many new bags and accessories, and we want to support Burundik's school expansion, but this will require € 300, 000, so we need to work hard to make a big contribution."
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