Samrawit Fikru Explained

Samrawit Fikru
Native Name Lang:	am
Birth Place:	Asella, Ethiopia
Education:	MicroLink Information Technology College HiLCoE School of Computer Science and Technology (BsC)
Nationality:	Ethiopian
Known For:	Founder and CEO of Hybrid Designs PLC RIDE
Occupation:	Software developer

Samrawit Fikru (Amharic: ሳምራዊት ፍቅሩ) is an Ethiopian computer scientist, entrepreneur, and businesswoman who is the founder and CEO of Hybrid Designs PLC, a software development company which produces the most popular ridesharing app in the country, RIDE.^[1]

Early life and education

Fikru was born in Asella, Ethiopia. She received her diploma in software engineering from MicroLink Information Technology College in 2004. She graduated with a BSc in computer science from the HiLCoE School of Computer Science and Technology in 2006.^[2]

Career

Fikru founded the software development company Hybrid Designs in 2014. The same year, Hybrid Designs released RIDE as an SMS-based ridesharing service. It was relaunched as a mobile app with a backing call center in July 2017.^[3] RIDE was inspired by the difficulty Fikru experienced trying to hire a taxi cab after late nights at work.^[4] She also wanted to create a service to address the safety concerns felt by herself and others in trying to find a taxi, and developed RIDE to help address these gaps.

As of 2020, the app has tens of thousands of users and has been downloaded over 50,000 times.^[5] The development staff for the app is 90% female.^[6] Fikru aims to inspire other women with her work: "Women-owned business are growing in number; now we need more young girls to access the finances to make their creative ideas happen."^[7]

In 2022, Fikru released Sewasew, a streaming platform for Ethiopian music.^[8]

Honors and awards

• Fikru was recognized as one of the Rest of World's 100 Global Tech Changemakers^[9]
• Fikru's success as a tech entrepreneur and her inspiration to young women were recognised by her inclusion on the BBC's 100 Women list in 2022.

External links

• • Web site: Samrawit Fikru: Entrepreneurs and Innovations . . 22 July 2017.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Samrawit Fikru, the tech genius behind Ethiopia's version of Uber whose staff is 90 percent female . . Aidoo . Theodora . 28 November 2019 . 29 January 2023.
2. Web site: Samrawit Fikru . Ethiopian Business Review . Berhane . Samson . 15 April 2019 . 29 January 2023.
3. Web site: RIDE, Ethiopia's version of Uber, is opening up for women in male-dominated taxi business . Semonegna . 25 August 2018 . 30 January 2023.
4. Web site: Meet Samrawit Fikru, The Tech Genius Reforming Ethiopia's Transport Sector . BuiltInAfrica.io . Adeyooye . Oluwafisayo Dorcas . 8 February 2021 . 30 January 2023.
5. Web site: Ethiopian Entrepreneurs: Five Inspiring Women and Men to Watch . distant-horizons.com . Moore . Janet . 27 May 2020 . 31 January 2023.
6. Web site: 11 May 2022 . Samrawit Fikru . 30 January 2023 . Rest of World.
7. Web site: BBC 100 Women 2022: Who is on the list this year? . . Koba . Melchior . 6 December 2022 . 31 January 2023.
8. Web site: Teddy Afro Joins Samrawit Fikru's Streaming Platform Sewasew . Shega . 24 November 2022 . 31 January 2023.
9. Web site: Samrawit Fikru contributes to safer mobility with RIDE . WeAreTech.Africa . 27 May 2022 . 1 February 2023.