Sophia Bekele

Sophia Bekele
Sophia at the ICANN's 28th Intl Public Meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, March 2007.
Born	Sophia Bekele Eshete Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Occupation	Business Person, Corporate Executive, Consultant
Years active	1990–present

Sophia Bekele (Amharic: ሶፕህአ በቀለ; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) is a business and corporate executive and writer. She is the founder and CEO of CBS International, a private California-based firm engaged in technology transfer to emerging economies, and SbCommunications Network, an Ethiopian IT company. In 2002 SbCNet was known for being successfully awarded a highly controversial bid for a government contract to build an integrated information network infrastructure for the Ethiopian Parliament. Bekele was also an elected member of the ICANN Council of the GNSO (Generic Names Supporting Organization), which advises on global internet policy. She has served on United Nations-sponsored committees, such as the UNECA-sponsored African Information Society Initiative (AISI), where she represents the private sector in discussions about the economic development of Africa. She is also involved with the creation of policies towards bridging the economic gap between Africa and other economies, through the use of Information and communication technologies (ICT).

Early life and work

Bekele is the daughter of Ato Bekele Eshete Wolde Michael, a businessman who was engaged in various sectors of the Ethiopian economy, also a founder and Board Director of United Bank,S.C and United Insurance,S.C one of the first and largest Banks and Insurance institutions in Ethiopia and Sister Mulualem Beyene Engida, a medical nurse. She attended a private Catholic high school, then traveled to America to acquire her Bachelor's Degree in Business Analysis and Information Systems at San Francisco State University. Recruited out of college by Bank of America, she began working in information security. She earned her Master of Business Administration (MBA) in management Information Systems from Golden Gate University, also in San Francisco, California, which led to managerial positions with UnionBanCal Corporation and then PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

International work

In 1998, Bekele left the corporate world and spent time traveling around the globe, visiting Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa, before launching a new career as an entrepreneur. She started CBS International, a company based in California, with a mission to transfer technology to emerging economies. As an affiliate of CBS International, Bekele also set up a local company in her home country of Ethiopia, SbCommunications Network, plc, specializing in systems integration and dedicated to serving emerging economies.

Concurrently, Bekele was appointed as an advisor to the United Nations African Information Society Initiative (AISI), an institutional framework by United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), to build the first African Information and Communications Infrastructure.

Sophia in Kigali Rwanda 2007

During her first two years in Africa, Bekele built business alliances with local and international firms, where she became known for her efforts to adapt Western business methods and practices into the traditional Ethiopian business model. Her efforts paid off when Bekele brought and won her first multi-million international contract to her local company, CBS with United Nations Agency for Project Services, to deploy a turnkey fiberoptic-based information technology infrastruture, for the African Union General Secretariat. In 2002, SbCnet was awarded a multi million dollar international contract for the implementation of an integrated data networking infrastructure project at the Ethiopian Parliament. The Ethiopian business weekly, Addis Fortune, referred to it as the most controversial contract that the government had. Originally awarded to Bekele's competitor GCS in 2001, Bekele's company, which had been second on the list, issued immediate complaints. Reportedly with aggressive lobbying by Bekele, the bid was audited, and it was determined that the awarding of the contract had been improper, and the Parliament reversed the decision and awarded the bid to Bekele's company in 2002.

It is almost possible to assume that the private press has, for all practical intentions narrowed down on the 'sensationalist' value of the story without considering the core values of the process at stake and the precedent setting process at work in this matter. Precedence is being set, because this is the first time since the renaissance of our democracy that an illegally awarded contract on a national scale project has been successfully suspended, cancelled and reversed in the interest of higher ideals.

—Sophia Bekele, writing a May 2002 opinion column in the Addis Fortune,

After the contracting controversy, Bekele's next encounter was the issue of the elite private sector business in Ethiopia, specifically what she regarded as the illegitimate formation of a stock exchange. She wrote an editorial claiming that this entity was planned without the proper rules, regulations, infrastructure and controls:

...it is better for us to have a proper open stock market where market forces determine the price of a share and security instruments...and should not be left to the machinations of a Share Dealing Group...the truth of the matter is that Addis Ababa Chamber of commerce cannot be both the sponsor and the regulator (oversight) according to the by-laws of the group... Government is the only agency that could put the regulatory frameworks and principles under which a proper stock exchange or commodities exchange can exist.

—Sophia Bekele, writing a June 2002 opinion column in the "Addis Fortune",

To her vindication, the government eventually rejected the proposal for the share dealing group in November 2002. As a followup, though there was no direct link with Bekele, in April 2008 the Ethiopian government launched a commodities exchange market, aimed at boosting fair trade and stabilizing its food market.

Focusing on the US market since 2003, Bekele and her company consult for clients in public/private markets, primarily in corporate governance and risk management areas, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. She also advises in corporate relations/communications programs within public companies.

As of 2010, Bekele resides in Walnut Creek California.

Public positions

Bekele at the Rotary Club of Addis Ababa advocating for Solar Cooking 2007

Bekele has been invited to speak at various forums and summits internationally to share her company's activities and strategies on such topics as "bridging the digital divide", "what works for Africa", "Continental Information Networks", "e-government" and "business startups", as well as address current issues such as the "global financial crisis". She was a panelist at a high level meeting on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT),held by the UN General Assembly in New York. She was a speaker at a summit organized by UNECA, ISOC, African Union Commission and the government of Rwanda.; on "Internet Governance" at Golden Gate University in San Francisco.; "How to build successful startups" at the Stanford Women In Business (SWIB) forum in Silicon Valley. and on "E-Government" for the UNDESA & ITU sponsored World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) forum in Geneva.

Bekele is currently leading the .africa initiative under DotConnectAfrica organization, a non-profit, non partisan start-up, that which she initiated during her term at ICANN. Bekele travels throughout the various African countries to advocating and speaking on the benefit of adapting to a dot-africa Top Level Domain name (TLD) for the African Continent.

• Bekele is the Co-Founder and Executive Board member of the Internet Society for SanFrancisco Bay (SFBAY).
• Bekele was nominated and confirmed to a three-year term to serve on the Alumni Board of Directors of Golden Gate University (GGU).
• Bekele was nominated, elected and served as a 2005-2007 member of the ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), Council of the Generic Names Supporting Organization(GNSO) where she attends International public ICANN meetings, such as the March 2007 meeting in Lisbon, Portugal.
• Bekele contributes to the Rotary Club where she was named Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary International was also Director of International Services - Rotary Club of Addis Ababa.
• Bekele was nominated and served as Eastern Africa representative on the Interim Steering Committee for African Stakeholders Network (ASN), under the sponsorship of the United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force,.
• Bekele was nominated and served on the African Technical Advisory Committee for the UNECA- sponsored African Information Society Initiative (AISI).
• Bekele had served on the Board of directors of the International Information Systems Audit and Control Association, San Francisco Chapter.

Writing

Bekele has written articles and editorials on issues concerning technology for development, good governance, regional economic integration, and politics, mostly in relation to her development work in Africa. Selected works include:

• Bekele, Sofia (2001-05-09). "A Cornerstone of Democracy: Good Governance (editorial)" (pdf). Ethiopian Reporter: pp. 5. http://cbsintl.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/good-governance-by-sophia-bekele.pdf. Retrieved 2008-04-30. 
• Bekele, Sophia (May 2001). "Free flow of ideas - a cornerstone for democracy (editorial)" (pdf). Ethiopian Reporter. http://cbsintl.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/free-flow-of-ideas-a-cornerstone-of-democracy-for-reporter-sophia-bekele.pdf. 
• Bekele, Sophia (Fall 2001). "Not only a vision, a common vision" (pdf). Business, Education and Technology Journal (Golden Gate University) 3 (2): p 7. http://cbsintl.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/bet-jounal-ggu-ict-article-by-sophia-bekele.pdf. Retrieved 2008-05-02. 
• Bekele, Sophia (June 2002). "Yes, Justice has been served! (editorial)" (pdf). The Ethiopian Herald. http://cbsintl.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/yes-justice-has-been-served-ethiopian-herald-sophia-bekele-ethiopia.pdf. Retrieved 2008-05-02. 
• Bekele, Sophia (2007-03-06). "The Solar Cooking story of Fresno". Rotary Club of Fresno. http://digaria.com/postings/008fed5ca953f9e69241e94eef4c7f6c. Retrieved 2008-05-05.  (alternate URL)

Further reading

• Fick, David (2006) (Paperback). Africa: Continent of Economic Opportunity. STE Publishers. pp. 512 pages. ISBN 978-1919855592. http://www.amazon.co.uk/africa-continent-economic-opportunity-opportunities/dp/toc/1919855599. Retrieved 2008-05-04. 

External links

• Bekele, Sophia. "Biography on personal website". sophiabekele.com. http://www.Sophiabekele.com. Retrieved 2008-05-13. 
• Bekele, Sophia. "whatido-whereido, Bekele's personal blog". blogspot.com. http://whatidowhereido.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2008-05-13. 
• "Bekele's corporate website, CBS International". cbsegroup.com. http://www.cbsintl2.bizland.com/main.html?src=%2Findex2.html#2,0. Retrieved 2008-05-13. 
• Bekele, Sophia. "DotAfrica website and blog". http://www.dotconnectafrica.org. Retrieved 2008-05-05. 
• Torres, Blanca (June 2006). "Lost May Soon Be Found, Cell Phone". Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, California: redOrbit). http://www.redorbit.com/news/business/534261/lost_may_soon_be_found_on_customers_cell_phones/index.html. Retrieved 2008-05-05. 
• "2007 draft schedule, UNECA African Consultation On Internet Governance, with Bekele as one of the Speakers" (pdf). 2007-10-28. http://www.uneca.org/disd/events/2007/ig-kigali/content/Agenda-African_Consultations_Internet_Governance-en.pdf. Retrieved 2008-05-05. 
• Bekele, Sophia (2008-02-11). "DotAfrica's position on JPA -National Telecommunications and Information Administration". NTIA. http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/domainname/jpacomments2007/jpacomment_069.pdf. Retrieved 2008-05-05. 
• "Picture of Bekele at "Fashion Out"". sfluxe.com. 2007-09-24. http://sfluxe.com/2007/09/24/amber-marie-and-tippi-in-union-square/. Retrieved 2008-05-05. 
• Bekele, Sophia (2005). "July 8th, Musical Chair Finalist!". The African Tribune. http://www.africantribune.com/content/view/756/188/. Retrieved 2008-05-12. 
• "Teleconference transcript: IDN Working Group Policy formation" (pdf). icann.org. January 2007. http://gnso.icann.org/meetings/transcript-IDN-wg2-23jan07.pdf. Retrieved 2008-05-13.