THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

China, that great recipient of industrial outsourcing and home to erstwhile cheap labor, has been having its problems lately with workers demanding better conditions and higher wages. Showing a resourcefulness that some may admire, Chinese manufacturers are now outsourcing to a cheaper labor pool, in Africa.

Within a few years, foreign companies such as Huajian have helped build up Ethiopia's nascent footwear industry from scratch.

Today, the company employs about 3,000 workers in Ethiopia and generates $20m worth of exports by producing shoes for international brands such as Guess, Naturalizer and Toms destined for US and European markets.

With a growing number of brands such as H&M starting to source from Ethiopia and existing companies ramping up production capacity, the three percent of Ethiopia's exports that came from textiles and leather in 2013 may well double in the next couple of years, according to government estimates.

Rising production costs in Asia are the key drivers prompting manufacturers such as Huajian to look for alternative production sites. Ethiopia seems to be ticking many of the boxes for investors: abundant cheap labour, no tariffs, and a stable political environment.

Entry-level salaries in Ethiopia range from $35 to $40 per month, significantly below average Chinese manufacturing wages of $629 per month, a figure reported to have tripled between 2000 and 2010.

In Bangladesh, textile workers are required to earn at least $68 per month, which represents an increase in minimum wages following the deadly collapse of a factory building in April, and criticism of working conditions there.

Ethiopia, however, has no minimum wage except for public servants.

"We do have a labour law in this country, which is in line with international standards, but the government will not actually intervene in setting the minimum wage," Aklilu Woldemariam, director of investment promotion at Ethiopia's Investment Agency, told Al Jazeera.

The absence of a minimum wage means that market dynamics determine the salaries of factory workers. With urban unemployment at about 18 percent, workers must often accept whatever wage is offered, or have no income at all.

The perfect labor pool, for the time being.