Abeselom was born to humble beginnings in Asmara, Eritrea in 1936. At the time, Asmara was considered just a small part of Ethiopia. When he was only 19, Abeselom moved out to the city of Addis Ababa in search of the Ethiopian Dream. He worked odd jobs including driving a taxicab and working as a baker. But after a few short years, his charisma, charm and hard working nature landed him a job in the most exclusive furniture shop in Ethiopia: The Mosvold Furniture Group.

Mosvold is a name people in Ethiopia will know, both from the area around the shops in Piazza, and as a name of quality products, particularly in the furniture business. But the fact that Mosvold was a Norwegian name, established by Norwegians with Norwegian products and European standards might not be so well known to many.

After Abeselom Sr. started working at Mosvold in his early twenties, he learned at a very young age the merits of service and the value of true quality. He often spoke in Italian and was full of energy and believed in the quality of the products he was selling; as a natural consequence, he was quickly promoted to a sales manager. On several occasions Mr. Torrey Mosvold himself praised and awarded Mr. Abeselom.

Because of his love to providing and producing quality furniture, Mr. Abeselom Sr. would often personally go to all the houses, including all the Italian homes and assemble the furniture himself; he often provided this services free of charge.

He quickly became a magnet for quality products and a recognized brand even within the brand of Mosvold itself. The name Abeselom became synonymous with quality. He worked night and day trying to perfect the ultimate furniture design. He would sketch and draw the perfect piece of furniture that would make everyone marvel in awe. He was quickly sought after in the market. Many customers would often request for his services and installation abilities, besides, they loved his loving nature.

However as the political climate began to change in the early 70s and as the once stable country began to show signs of a revolution under the Derg Regime, Mr. Torrey Mosvold left the country never to return again.

It was then that Abeselom Sr. left the Mosvold Furniture Group, taking with him the knowledge of a quality brand and infusing it with his own determination to begin a furniture store that would change the industry. In 1985, Abeselom created his own furniture factory creating some of the most amazing furniture to this day using pure solid wood. Ten years later, he and his wife Almaz Yacob founded the Rainbow Foam Industry, also known as Keste Damena, to produce polyurethane foam to use in conjunction with their furniture business.

At the time, competition in the foam industry was based on unfair and unethical tactics and still remains to be that way even today. Rainbow began to suffer financially because the product that came out from Rainbow seemed (at the time) too costly for the consumer. But little did the consumer know that the competitors had for so long been selling cheap foam and inferior mattresses using other chemical ingredients such as fillers to save on raw materials and hence why they were able to sell for so cheap. These fillers were dangerous chemicals used to lower the cost of their production.

Abeselom was told it was the only way to do business otherwise he would go bankrupt. Abeselom refused. “I will never ever compromise quality or my name for money! I am trusted in this business for over 30 years, I will never lose that trust,” he would often say. Despite several pleas from friends and family to follow the herd; — Abeselom stood his ground and refused. He would often say, “Legacy is better than currency.”

The first few years were rocky but then something began to happen…everyone noticed that they had to keep buying foam every 3-6 months outside of Rainbow. However, anyone who bought from Rainbow didn’t have to invest in anything new for up to and over 5 years. Rainbow became the only company that guaranteed its product. Unlike anyone else, Rainbow had a no questions asked full warranty.

Today, we are proud to say because of the values and the integrity of the Abeselom name, Rainbow Foam Industry is the number 1 foam Industry in Ethiopia.