Chid Liberty

Founder and CEO
Liberty and Justice, Liberia

Chid Liberty was born in Liberia, a country ravaged by 14 years of civil war. His family was forced to seek refuge from Liberia's political unrest and came to the United States. In 2008, Chid made the decision to return to Liberia. He was stirred by the stories his parents told him about his birthplace and family and wanted to go back to his roots.

In 2009, Chid co-founded Liberty and Justice with his best friend, Adam Butlein, in hopes of contributing to Liberia's economic recovery. The Liberian grassroots women's organizations and their peace and social justice movement inspired Chid. He knew that studies showed that income in the hands of women is more likely to be reinvested in activities that will benefit the family and children. He also saw that the women of Liberia are excluded from the most productive sectors of the economy, and the vast majority of petty trading jobs employing women from slum areas pay less than $1 per day. Liberty and Justice is a unique hybrid social enterprise comprising for-profit and non-profit entities. They develop local African factories and connect them with international retailers and individual consumers. These factories produce fair-trade apparel for American and European retailers, replacing a culture of sweatshops with a culture of sweat equity. Liberty and Justice created Africa's first Fair Trade Certified apparel factories. Every woman who works for Liberty and Justice receives health insurance and equity in the factory (the women workers own 49% of the factories) and 100% of any savings they retain in their savings account for one year is matched, allowing them to save and invest in land, business ventures and education. Liberty and Justice projects exceeding $15 million in annual revenues in 2014. Chid Liberty is a 2011 Social Venture Network Innovation Award winner.