Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (22 March 2023)
Sophia Bekele, the Founder and Group CEO of DotConnectAfrica, has been featured on the cover story of CIO Views, a US-based magazine, for their special IWD23 edition. The publication has recognized Sophia as an influential and fearless trailblazer in the technology industry, who leads her business on her own terms.
Sophia Bekele is a successful Ethiopian entrepreneur who has made a name for herself in tech and is considered a highly esteemed executive in both the public and private sectors, with expertise in international policy, corporate governance, technology, and development challenges. Her innovative journey began when she graduated as a software engineer in applied business analytics from an American university.
She founded and ran various successful international tech startups dedicated to technology transfer, implemented large-scale nation-building projects with fiber-based technologies for institutions like the African Union and Ethiopian Parliament, introduced the first DNS business in Ethiopia to help private sectors and the government with their online presence, and offered innovative business models such as revenue share to governments and private companies in Africa..
Currently, Sophia has introduced the first of-its-kind AI-based e-commerce Marketplace to help African MSMEs have access to the international market with a focus on financing women’s businesses. Her initiative is currently nominated for the BOLD Awards hosted in Venice Italy, in March, an award that recognizes top companies in digital industries in the c-economy powering breakthroughs around the world.
Sophia is also renowned for pioneering the women-in-tech space in Africa through the launch of Miss. Africa Digital, currently rebranded as Fempower, over a decade ago. The program is dedicated to empowering women and girls through digital education and financial assistance, and it has now been executed in fifteen African countries.
Sophia’s achievements have received widespread recognition from credible and influential sources around the world. However, her journey to entrepreneurship has not been without its challenges, as she has faced discrimination and skepticism from those who doubted her ability to succeed as a woman and an African in the male-dominated tech industry. Yet, she persisted through her hard work, perseverance, and a commitment to her vision, and has managed to surmount these challenges and attain significant triumphs in her profession.
Source: CIO Views
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