Sure, we all know about Dr. Eleni Gabre-Madhin and all the great work she's doing at the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange.  But there are many other notable Ethiopian women doing extraordinary things the world over that you probably may not know as much about.  Here are just a few of them.  To tell us about even more, email us at feedback@addisconnexion.com.    

Name:  Dr. Bogalech Gebre

Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Profession: Activist

If there was only one personality we were to feature in this section, it would have to be Dr. Bogalech Gebre because she is so emblematic of what this particular issue is all about.  Born in 1958, she overcame the tremendous odds associated with some of the harmful traditional practices in Ethiopia that women are frequently forced to undergo and has since made huge accomplishments in helping to combat these practices that she herself was once a victim of.  After losing two of her sisters to infections from FGM and escaping from four attempted early marriages, she became the first girl ever in her village of Zato to be educated beyond the fourth grade.   She later attended Hebrew University in Jerusalem on a full scholarship and became the first woman invited to join the science faculty at Addis Ababa University after having earned a Ph.D. in epidemiology from UCLA, Los Angeles.

In a community which believes that excision is no more than ‘removing the dirt’ and practiced as a rite of passage to making a girl a whole woman, Bogae (as her loving town people call her) founded Kembatta Women’s Self-Help Center in Ethiopia (KMG), a seven-acre women’s community in Kembatta in 1997 to stop such practices.  KMG focuses on three interrelated areas; reproductive health rights (including elimination of FGM and prevention of HIV and AIDS); vocational training and women’s entrepreneurial skills as well as the restoration of damaged watersheds and other environmental degradations. KMG has also established legal clinics to teach women their legal rights under Ethiopia’s constitution and is making inroads in empowering women to fight for their rights.

Despite the renown which her unique and highly effective approaches to her work have brought her, Boge remains highly reticent in speaking about herself and how she got to where she is, preferring instead to focus almost exclusively on her work.  But an inspiring story such as hers cannot and indeed should not be overlooked. For she is the quintessential embodiment of both the challenges that the ‘Women of Ethiopia’ face in our generation as well as what they can achieve beyond and in spite of them.

Name:  Messeret Defar

Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Profession: Athlete and Activist

Born into a family of 7 in 1983 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Meseret Defar grew up as an active child either while doing household chores or out shopping at the market.  Later she started participating in running competitions at school and completed most of the races with promising results.  Early on, her father saw her potential and supported her racing career while her mother was hesitant due to the fear that daughter would not find acceptance in her chosen focus at that age. At age 14, Meseret was probably one of the youngest runners to be included in the Ethiopian Banks club system in 1998. Further, although most successful Ethiopian runners come from rural parts of the country, Messeret flourished as a long distance runner to become the first and only female Ethiopian Olympic champion from Addis Ababa.

Messeret’s continuing achievements as an athlete are well known and include winning gold at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens in the 5000m race as well as medal positions in numerous other athletic events.  Small wonder that she was voted Female World Athlete of the Year in 2007 and is rightly considered to be one of the most promising female athletes in Ethiopia.  Barely a month ago, she once again proved why she’s an elite athlete by shattering the indoor 2-mile record at a race in Boston.

But Messeret’s great story isn’t all on the track field.  After being selected as the Honorary National Ambassador in Ethiopia for UNFPA in 2004, she has been active in championing the causes of women, youth and the prevention of HIV/AIDS here.  Married to the former Junior Banks foot ball player, Tewodros Hailu, she now strives to add more to her glittering career both as an iconic athlete and social activist.

Name:  Dr. Sossina Haile

Location: Pasadena, California

Profession: Material Science Professor

With all this talk about eco friendly power solutions to address the mounting energy crisis that is affecting every corner of our globe, it was refreshing to find the world looking up to an Ethiopian born scientist for hope.

Growing up in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Ms. Haile, left her native country in 1976 to immigrate to the United States. Her parents, and sister, Rebecca, would settle in central Minnesota where she attended St John Preparatory School graduating with the notion to change the world. Earning her Bachelor of Science and Doctoral degree at MIT and her MSC degree from the University of California, Berkley, she is currently a professor at The California Institute of Technology..

These days, Ms Haile is busy working on perfecting her chemical reactions in fuel cell science. The thought is that by generating chemical reactions, energy is created and, by channeling the energy, one can power just about anything.  While the research is ongoing, Ms Haile’s dedication to this niche study has gained international interest as it is thought to address a specific need in our growing dependence on energy. And best of all, the byproduct of the chemical reaction is eco friendly, and carbon free H2O!

Name:  Tsega Gebreyes    

Location: London, England

Profession: Investment Banker

Tsega Gebreyes is Founding Partner and CEO of Satya Capital Limited, a private investment firm specializing in Africa-related investment.  Satya Capital invests across the African continent, primarily in financial services, FMCG, energy and natural resources, with an investment target of US$20m or above.

Tsega began her career in 1996 after graduating with an MBA from Harvard University. After stints with Citibank and McKinsey Associates, she joined Celtel International as a director in 1999.  Subsequently, she served as member of the executive management team, assumed responsibility for driving the group’s acquisition and expansion into new markets and business segments.  Ms Gebreyes was responsible for key acquisitions made by Celtel. In 2005, Ms Gebreyes led the competitive M&A process that resulted in acceptance of Mobile Telecommunications Company’s US $3.4 billion offer to Celtel’s shareholders to acquire Celtel.  This transaction is one of the largest corporate deals ever involving a company operating in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

Prior to Celtel, Ms Gebreyes was a founding partner of NAOF, a US $120 million private equity Fund currently managed by Zephyr Asset Management.  The Fund was established to make investments in Sub-Saharan African countries with the backing of US financial institutions, including CitiGroup as anchor investor.  Ms Gebreyes was responsible for the fundraising and closing of the Fund.  Subsequently, she led investment activities and served as director on a number of operating company Boards.

Comments (4)

Thanks for the lead
written by Winiti , July 05, 2008

Inspiring women......hoping to follow in their footsteps,...... someday...actually starting today!!!

Tsega Gebreyes
written by Emmanuel , May 05, 2009

I would like to meet Tsega, she is an extraordinary woman and seems to have it all sense, beauty and what have you. Addis ConneXion can you help?

Investing in Ethiopia
written by Amin Assi, Ph.D. , January 01, 2010

Our International investment group interested in Telecom, Affordable Housing, Power Plants (IPP) 50-100MW and 1-3MW Solar, and Corporate Strategy Consultancy, might be able to join efforts with Ms. Tsega Gebreyes if she has the right elements for success.

Dr. Bogae
written by Taye G/Libanos , February 21, 2010

Dr. Bogae, good history but it's too few to know about her. I know her personally, she is one Ethiopian women to learn much. But unfortunately, she is not capitalized by Ruling party/TPLF/ and it is this and only this fact that let her efforts untold and unpopular. But she is hero for women living there, South western Ethiopia.