Betelhem Dessie

Betelhem Dessie is a 21-year-old Ethiopia’s leading youth technology education entrepreneur. She is named the young pioneer in Ethiopian emerging tech scene by CNN and BBC. Also included in the list for African innovators to watch for in 2019 by Quartz. Born and raised in Harar, Ethiopia, Betty was interested in computers starting from age 7. She started coding at the age of 10, and since then has continued to learn more, mastering the key aspects of computer science and robotics by her mid-teens. After moving to Addis Ababa to be mentored by a government agency called INSA(Information Network Security Agency) she went out on her own and started doing software projects, for her own interest for various clients. All along, Betelhem has also been teaching kids computing and robotics. Partnering with iCog Labs — Ethiopia’s first Artificial Intelligence and robotics lab, she started an initiative called iCog - Anyone Can Code (ACC) hoping to create a platform in which children throughout the developing world can have the same opportunity as she had when she was a kid — and the ACC project is a product of that vision. She is currently working as the Founder and CEO of iCog – Anyone Can Code, and multiple projects aimed at democratizing, decentralizing and equipping the youth with the necessary skills to innovate and create solutions in the developing world. Betelhem has spoken and had discussions with industry leaders in summits and conferences like Women in Tech Stockholm, The Milken Institute Summit, MiT’s Solve and The Global Change Award just to mention a few.