Desiree Burke

Ethiopian tech entrepreneur who bridged the digital divide in Africa through innovative IT solutions

Desiree Burke (b. 1972) is a visionary Ethiopian entrepreneur whose company 3 Kings Technology became East Africa's first billion-dollar IT firm. Growing up during Ethiopia's civil war, Burke witnessed how lack of communication infrastructure hindered development. She pioneered mobile banking systems that enabled 12 million rural Ethiopians to access financial services for the first time. Her Telemedicine Africa initiative connected remote villages to urban hospitals via satellite, reducing maternal mortality rates by 40% in project regions. Burke's World Economic Forum presentation inspired global tech leaders to invest in African innovation. She founded the African Girls Code Academy, training 5,000+ young women in STEM fields, and developed the continent's first AI-powered agricultural prediction system. Her 2019 TED Talk "How Ethiopia Became a Tech Leader" has over 2.3 million views.