Ethiopia's Fashion industry takes off

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In Ethiopia, one of the world's poorest countries, the life of a model is a good one. Compared to the majority of people who live on less than US$2 dollars a day, models can earn a good wage, though some still complain it's not enough.

Yonatan Teferra is a male model who says he would like to earn more for a day's work. 22 year old Dina Fekadu, a model and philosophy student in Addis Ababa, has represented Ethiopia in numerous beauty pageants around the globe. Last year she made it in to the top 20 of the Miss Universe competition and was the only finalist from Africa.

She says modelling at home is easy, but she says she finds the international scene very competitive. Dina is soon travelling to New York in the USA to try her luck at breaking in to the international modelling scene. If she's successful, it'll encourage others to do the same.

While super model Naomi Campbell famously said she would not get out of bed for less than US$10,000, in Ethiopia models would. Model Selamawit Adanu says when she gets out of bed there is always her beauty programme to attend to.

Tadesse Getachew, the sole agent in Ethiopia for Tylo, the world's largest manufacturer of sauna, steam and shower products, hired these three girls plus a male model to use in his upcoming advertising campaign. He says he deliberately uses Ethiopians in their advertising campaigns.

The model industry in Ethiopia is slowly beginning to take off. Yodit Mengistu is the manager of the 'Boston Day Spa Model Agency' in the capital. She says they still have a monopoly on the modelling market.

Yodit's also a model herself and has featured regularly in the 'My Fashion' publication, Ethiopia's only English language fashion magazine.It's distributed around the world, including in the USA, UK, South Africa and the Middle East. Approximately 5,000 copies are sold each month in Ethiopia and the same amount outside the country. It costs US$2 in Ethiopia and almost US$5 everywhere else. Nolawi Melakedingel from 'My Fashion' says the magazine is a good way to spread the image of Ethiopia around the world.