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Ethiopian Entrepreneur Hamrawit Gizaw has built a women-only fitness centre in Addis Ababa that allows mothers to exercise without leaving childcare behind.
Gizaw, a computer scientist turned fitness entrepreneur, founded AfroHeat Fitness in 2021 after noticing that many women struggled to use conventional gyms because of safety concerns, family duties and childcare needs.
“I just wished it was better for me,” Gizaw said. “Then I thought there must be other women who wish the same.”
AfroHeat offers women-only fitness classes, personal training and strength workouts, alongside a children’s room where mothers can leave their babies and young children while exercising.
Mothers can also pause their workouts to breastfeed before returning to the gym.
“It’s a private space within a public space,” Gizaw said.
Gym enthusiast Mahlet Kamariam said women-only fitness centres can help women feel more comfortable and confident while exercising.
“A women-only gym creates a safe space,” she said. “There’s no body shaming. It’s not intimidating in the way a co-ed gym can be.”
Mahlet added that women could benefit from fitness programmes designed specifically for them, including classes led by female trainers.
The approach addresses a wider gender gap in physical activity.
The World Health Organisation (WHO)’s 2024 assessment found that women consistently remain less likely than men to meet recommended physical activity levels.
WHO country estimates show that 43 percent of adult women in South Africa are sufficiently active, compared with 58 percent of men.
In Kenya, the figures are 79 percent for women and 83 percent for men, while Nigeria records 76 percent for women and 79 percent for men.
Gizaw’s interest in fitness developed while she was studying computer science in Minnesota, United States.
She became involved in dance performances with African students from countries including Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana and Ethiopia.
“When I moved back to Ethiopia, I realised I had a skill. I loved movement and I had this passion for dance, but I didn’t know what to do with it,” she said.
After returning to Ethiopia in 2018, Gizaw began offering free women-only dance fitness classes.
Her first official class drew 22 women, but the next session had only three participants.
She continued teaching and promoting her classes through social media.
In 2020, she became a certified personal trainer and began training clients in their homes before turning her backyard into a small fitness space.
The business grew from three women to six, then to about 50 members, forcing Gizaw to move to a larger facility.
To secure the lease, she asked members to pay six months upfront.
“They were basically my first investors,” she said.
The larger facility, however, brought new financial pressures, including rent, repairs, staff salaries and maintenance costs.
Gizaw said the challenges worsened when schools closed for summer, and some mothers stopped attending because they had to care for their children.
“I genuinely did not know how we would survive the next month,” she said.
Family loans helped keep the business running, but feedback from mothers who had stopped attending highlighted the need for childcare.
“When mothers told me they had no one to look after their children, I thought there must be something we can change,” she said.
AfroHeat later introduced a dedicated children’s area, allowing mothers without nannies or other childcare support to bring their children while they exercise.
Gym floor manager and personal trainer Selamawit Alemu said the facility has helped mothers deal with situations that could otherwise interrupt their workouts.
“For mothers, exercising with children is a very difficult thing,” Alemu said, explaining that one client recently paused her workout to breastfeed her eight-month-old baby before returning to exercise.
The centre also operates with an all-women team and has policies that recognise issues such as menstrual pain, emotional stress and other challenges affecting women.
“This isn’t only about members,” Gizaw said. “It’s also about my team.”
The business has also expanded its focus to mothers’ wellness, with programmes covering postpartum recovery, breastfeeding, pelvic floor strength and rebuilding physical confidence after childbirth.
Gizaw also encouraged an employee, Frehiwot Shita, who joined as an accountant and administrator, to consider fitness as a career.
AfroHeat later sponsored her international certification, allowing her to become a qualified trainer.
Gizaw now hopes to expand AfroHeat into other East African markets, including Kenya and Rwanda, while making fitness education and professional certification more accessible to women.
“Fitness is still a very male-dominated industry. Fitness education, certifications, and online education should be much more available for women who are looking to explore fitness as a career option,” she added.
For Gizaw, AfroHeat is ultimately about helping women gain confidence beyond the gym.
“I want AfroHeat to break that shackle for women,” she said. “I want women to think, ‘If I can start a fitness journey when I never thought fitness was for me, maybe I can also leave this toxic situation. Maybe I can also pursue the career I want. Maybe I can also choose a different life.’
By Bonface Orucho, Bird Story Agency.
