Sometimes, little things that seem to be inconsequential can uncover our special talent, alter the path of our lives for the better, and drive us to the life we want to live. The actions that we may carry out just to resolve our immediate challenges or we take them for granted can enhance our creative efforts, develop our skills, and help us to contribute something valuable not only for ourselves but also for others.
And the life altering experience of Betelhem Dessie, “the youngest pioneer in Ethiopia’s fast emerging tech scene, web and mobile technologies developer, and a coding genius,” was begun on such occasions.
As she mentioned in various media outlets, the whole thing started when she was only nine and wanted to celebrate her 9th birthday.
In her keynote speech delivered at annual program of Women in Tech2020 (#WITsthlm2020), organized by Women in Tech Sweden- the largest ever conference in Tech across the Nordic region’s and held in Sweden, Stockholm- Betelhem said: “The story began when I turned nine and the time I asked my father for some money to celebrate my birthday. I asked my father for some money. Unfortunately, he told me that he did not have enough to give me.”
However, this did not make her lose hope. Rather, encouraged her to handle the matter in her own way and make money. She did it.
She started working at her father’s electronic shop located in Harar, the Eastern part of Ethiopia and the place where she was born and raised.
She engaged in video editing and transferring music to customers’ cell phones. As luck would have it, on that right day, she gained about 90 USD and celebrated her birthday.
This incident did not only resolve the financial problem that she faced to celebrate her birthday, but as the saying goes, “setbacks pave the way for one’s future”, opened the way to her future – to excel in the area and stand at the forefront in Ethiopia’s emerging tech scene.
Since that time, she started working devotedly to develop her knowledge and skills in computers. So soon, she learned how to develop a website, how to code on html, and used the dial-up internet connection to market her father’s business to more customers. That was how she first started coding.
And, by the age of ten, Betelhem had begun coding in HTML by herself and started working for the Information Network Security Agency (INSA) at 11. Not only that, but side by side to her regular school work, she started teaching basic computer skills to her classmates from school, documents indicate.
“A self-taught coder, Betelhem Dessie is already a pioneer in Ethiopia’s emerging tech scene. Coding since she was 9, Betelhem has copyrighted six software programs, including a digital library, a virtual laboratory, a document and inventory management system, and a DNB locator (named after her family initials, the locator is an application that maps irrigation systems and can be used by agricultural experts). She also developed “Askual”, a digital learning platform that brings students, parents and teachers together joining hands with other students,” it is stated at UNICEF website.
What is more, Betelhem created “Anyone Can Code (iCog-ACC)”, a subsidiary of iCog that teaches 8-18-year-olds the basics of coding and robotics in Ethiopia and abroad. Not only that; but she also devised ‘Solve IT’, a nationwide innovation competition for 18-28-year-olds to find local solutions to local problems. She is also endeavoring to equip girls with the skills they need to work in their country’s growing tech industry.
While talking about this initiative, Betelhem said: “Anyone Can Code (iCog-ACC) was designed with a focus on teaching young children from age 8 to 18 on the basics of coding and robotics. It is created with the idea of teaching and equipping young people in Africa with the basic skills of problem solving analytical thinking; including coding, robotics, block chain genetic engineering, and to make them ready for the skills that are needed in the 21st century.”
She considers her role in equipping thousands of children with coding skills and creating a platform for 5,000 entrepreneurs in Ethiopia through ACC and Solve IT campaigns and workshops to be her greatest accomplishment.
Betelhem also works with scientists and innovators from all over the country helping them showcase their inventions, from football playing robots to racing simulators.
She also hopes that these young people will one day follow in her footsteps and leave their fingerprint in the technology. “I feel very happy because it is not only inspiring them but it also inspires me to do more. So, that is my motivation to continue seeing that they are able to do and what they are able to achieve through this program. So I think it is necessary that I inspire others so that it will help me grow and innovate more,” she remarked.
Currently, Betelhem heads a number of nationwide programs run by robotics lab iCog Labs, including Sophia the robot, the humanoid robot that came about with collaboration between iCog Labs and Hong Kong-based Robotics Company.
Bethlehem, the CEO of iCog Anyone Can Code (iCog-ACC), hopes to create a platform in which children throughout Ethiopia can have the same opportunity as she had when she was a kid — and the iCog -ACC is a product of that vision.
Her and her team has impacted over 25,000 Ethiopian children and young people, primarily from government schools. The majority of her works are centered on ensuring that individuals outside of Addis get access to this platform.
Betelhem has been featured on prominent websites such as Wikipedia, CNN, and UNICEF. While CNN named her “the youngest pioneer in Ethiopia’s fast emerging tech scene,” other sources referred to her as Ethiopia’s leading youth technology entrepreneur.
In 2019, she was named one of the young African innovators to watch by Quartz Africa. Betelhem’s legacy showed its peak when she had the chance to meet Twitter founder and CEO Jack Dorsey. Dorsey stated about Betelhem on his Twitter page, “Likely the most incredible soul in the entire world. Pure joy. Appreciate you!”
She also delivered speeches and shared her experiences at various important national and global platforms, including at the Women in Tech2020 (#WITsthlm2020) – conference organized by Women in Tech Sweden, the Association of Women in Boldness (AWiB) Women Of Excellence (WOE2022) in which she was awarded; and at the Ethiopian Business Women Dinner, and UNICEF.
As she once stated to UNICEF in relation to her success at her young age, Betelhem said, “I do not feel that I have achieved all my goals yet. I still have big dreams. The things I have done so far are only processes and roads that will take me there. For example, I want to open a large Centre of Excellence and a school. My vision for the future is always evolving. Whenever I am exposed to something bigger and better, it changes completely.”
According to her, her family’s contribution, especially her father’s role in success is immense. “My family has been very supportive since I was a child.
She also believes that it is vital to demonstrate the caliber of African talent hence; she is working untiringly to expand her businesses even further and reach more countries.
Betelhem Dessie
BY STAFF REPORTER
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 18 JANUARY 2024
