As part of the 2024 Universal Women’s Leadership Forum in Strasbourg, France, the President of the European System, Mr Gabriel MVOGO invited Ms. Sophia Bekele Eshete to take an active part in the work of this high-level forum.
The entire European Cooperation System team was delighted to receive Ms. Sophia Bekele positive response.
Who is Sophia Bekele Eshete?
Ms. Sophia Bekele Eshete is a highly accomplished business executive, international entrepreneur, and policy advisor known for her pioneering work in technology and governance. She has established successful ventures and garnered global recognition for her achievements. With a rich education, entrepreneurship, and international exposure, Sophia’s career has been marked by asuccessful track record spanning multiple decades of constant professional activity. Her extensive global experience in the public and private sectors has established her as a thought leader in global policy, corporate governance, and technology. With a proven track record of successful entrepreneurial and tech policy initiatives in the industry she operates in, her work has empowered and benefited millions of communities globally. It has set a benchmark for excellence & impact on the global internet and African economic landscape, inspiring others to follow suit.
With multiple decades of transforming lives and businesses via technology in Africa and across the globe and leading her organization with passion and grit, Bekele has received many accolades and recognition for her work, including from CNN, Bloomberg, Economist, CIO, Silicon Valley and many other media, enumerating her « An Influential & Fearless Trailblazer in Technology Leading Business on Her Own Terms-2023 »; « 10 Most Powerful Women Leaders in Business to Follow-2023; « As Serial Lifestyle Techprenure, Changing Lives and Businesses through Innovation-2022 »; « 100 Most Influential African Women Leaders & Pioneers-2022 », « CEO Today Africa Awards-2021/22 »;
« Women of Influence Honoree-2021; « Industry Trailblazer » and « Internet Governance Pioneer – 2017 »; « Fearless women working hard to close the gender gap-2015 » and « brains behind .africa – 2016 », among many others.
Currently serving as the Founder & Group CEO of DotConnectAfrica, Sophia’s journey in spearheading tech-driven economic growth for over a decade has been characterized by a strong dedication to innovation and sustainable development. Her current groundbreaking Pan African initiative aims to transform the eCommerce landscape, harnessing the power of AI and SaaS technologies. Her flagship B2cB. Marketplace is a testament to her vision, embodying the integration of advanced digital solutions for PanAfrican trade expansion. Notably, she has led the launch of the (.africa) domain, highlighting her commitment to a connected continent and empowering African entities through top-tier digital infrastructure. Furthermore, she has founded and established a highly acclaimed and award-winning Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, focusing on digital education through Tech Boot Camp and providing Seed-Fund grants for Women and Girls. This program has already made an impact in 15 African countries, benefiting 15,000 girls to date.
As an entrepreneur, Sophia has founded and led International startups and implemented successful large-scale networking projects in Africa, including the Ethiopian Parliament, the African Union, and the DNS business. She has also launched companies into new markets in the US and Africa. Her US Clients included Intel Corp, the Federal Reserve, Genentech, and startups in Silicon Valley.
Early in her career as a Corporate Executive, Bekele achieved a successful track record working for various multinational Fortune 500 Companies, notably at the Bank of America, Mitsubishi Bank of California, and PricewaterhouseCoopers, in the fields of Business, Technology, corporate governance, Risk Management, and enterprise systems. She has continued to draw on this background in her current professional engagements, advocating for accountability and transparency improvements in her engagements. Sophia has served on various national and international senior-level policy advisory & leadership boards, including multiple United Nations bodies, such as UNECA, UNITU, UNGAID, and the global internet regulator ICANN, where her body of work has influenced the formation of key Global and African organizations that made significant impact on the implementation of important public policies on technology and global internet governance, including International Domain Names
(IDNs). She is the co-founder and ex-board member of the San Francisco Internet Society (ISOC), an Internet governance association. She has also performed high-level public engagements and policy advocacy at US Congress. She has served on education boards; public policy think tanks and forums in the US and Europe. In 2018, Sophia was appointed as the founding advisor of the Portugal-based EurAfrican Forum, which champions the economic policy dialogue between Europe and Africa. She also served as an International Ambassador to various Intercontinental Rotary Clubs, receiving the prestigious « Rotary Paul Harris Fellow » award for her contributions.
Sophia is regularly invited to speak on her work at international conferences, including delivering keynote speeches and moderating high-level panels. She is a published writer and commentator on industry and political media on current technology issues, the Internet and good governance, business, and cyber–security. Sophia maintains an active social media page commentary on « conversions that matter, » covering business, wellness, and self-development topics.
Sophia holds an MBA in Management of Information Systems (MIS) from Golden Gate University and a Bachelor of Science in Business Analysis and Computer Systems (BACS) from San Francisco State University. She also holds various professional certifications of competency in digital and cyber security, control systems, and governance of Enterprise Systems, such as CISA, CCS, and CGEIT.
Sophia is an extroverted, creative & out-of-the-box thinker. She is well known for her bold views, challenging the status quo & addressing irregularities wherever she finds them. Her love for travel has taken her to 150 countries, including six historic exploratory around-the-world trips; and a passion for scuba diving in exotic islands. Her advocacy for work-life balance, fashion sense, & the
good life has affectionately earned her the moniker #AddisHilton. You can find Sophia’s full body of work at:
https://sophiabekele.com/
