Awards and Recognitions

A SURPRISE "WOMEN LEADERSHIP" Award, July 2024 Universal Women's Leadership Forum at the EU Parliament

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Happy IWD23 to all the ladies out there! Sophia Bekele

 March 08, 2023,
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DCA e-commerce Initiative was Nominated for the Bolds Award in Venice, Italy. March 2023
Happy New Year, 2023!

“10 Most Powerful Women Leaders in Business to Follow, 2023”
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DotConnectAfrica (DCA), named as the "Best Digital Education in Africa", July 2022 by the Top UK Magazine, CEO Today Africa
100 Most Influential African Women

100 Most Influential African Women list in 2022 by the Leading African PR & Rating firm, Avance Media Africa.. READ Full article

2021 Women Of Influence Award

By Silicon Valley Journal, “Real Influence carries value-based leadership’, Said Sophia.
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Message on International Women’s Day

Listen to the insightful message from our Founder Ms. Sophia Bekele,
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With over a decade 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.
 
  • In 2024,  Sophia received a surprise “Women Leadership Award”  for “inclusion and social impact” from the European Cooperation System – a high level forum organized with the cooperation of the European Parliament, 2023 Universal Women Leadership Forum, that celebrates and promotes the fundamental leadership  of women today and tomorrow.  
  • In 2023, the US-based CIO Views dubbed Sophia Bekele for their cover story as “An Influential & Fearless Trailblazer in Technology Leading Business on Her Own Terms”.
  • In 2023, US-based Success Pitchers Magazine recognized and awarded her “10 Most Powerful Women Leaders to Follow” for their cover feature story as a “Serial Lifestyle Techprenure, Changing Lives and Businesses through Innovation”.
  • In 2022, She was enlisted as one of the “100 Most Influential African Women Leaders & Pioneers” by the Leading African PR & Rating firm, Avance Media, noting “Sophia is among the Most Influential African Women, working to inspire the continent through her Excellence business leadership and performance, Personal accomplishments, her commitment to sharing knowledge and her continuous effort to break the gender digital divide in Africa”.
  • In 2021, Sophia was dubbed 2021 Women of Influence Honoree, by Silicon Valley Business Journal, celebrating women of outstanding achievement in their industry and community. She was also honored with the 2021 CEO Today Africa Awards for exceptional business leadership and growth, and for those individuals who shine as examples of excellence when faced with unprecedented challenges.
  • in 2018, Africa Link honored awarded her with the Champion of Development Award at the 2018 Solidarity Awards in Switzerland
  • In 2017, the ITU/UN Equals in Tech Awards program was named a finalist for the Hundreds of young women and girls’ tech initiatives that have benefited 12 African Countries from support by Miss.Africa Digital Seed-Funding impact program. Noting her significant contributions to the industry, in 2017, CIO East Africa named her “Industry Trailblazer” and “Internet Governance Pioneer”.
  • In 2015, she was widely acclaimed as one of the “Two Leading ladies” in Africa’s ICT sector and “African Women to Watch” by Bloomberg TV, recognizing women as “most fearless, competitive and visionary African women of our time and the women working hard to close the gender gap and shaping the continent’s social, political and economic landscape”.
  • In 2014, ADIPWE enumerated her as one of the “Top 20 Inspirational African Diaspora Professional Women in Europe” for her work in technology transfer from the West.
  • In 2013, she was named as one of the “50 African Trailblazers – a Future Made in Africa” by the NewAfrican Magazine noting all her accomplishments including initiating, organizing and leading the wildly acclaimed and successful 6-year Yes2DotAfrica multi-lingual global awareness ground and social media “unsponsored” campaign for the “.africa” Internet domain name, reaching over 30million views. It held a position of the top 50 “topmost attractive” new domains from among 1930 global domains by top industry rating agency, earning her the title “brains behind .africa’, by African media.

    You can read more about the Media coverage and accolades at https://sophiabekele.com and inNews link.