(CNN) At 19-years-old, Betelhem Dessie is perhaps the youngest pioneer in Ethiopia's fast emerging tech scene, sometimes referred to as 'Sheba Valley'.
Dessie is coordinating a number of nationwide programs run by robotics lab iCog, the Addis Ababa based artificial intelligence (AI) lab that was involved in developing the world famous Sophia the robot.
She has four software programs copyrighted solely to her name - including an app developed for the Ethiopian government to map rivers used for irrigation.
And it all began when she was just 9.
She recalls: "On my 9th birthday I wanted to celebrate so I asked my father for money." When her father said he didn't have any to give her that day, Dessie took matters into her own hands.
Making use of the materials around her - her father sold electronics in their home city of Harar in eastern Ethiopia - Dessie started with small tasks such as video editing and sending music to customer's cell phones.
"I got about 90 dollars - then I celebrated my birthday" she laughs, sitting in one of the robotics and coding rooms at iCog, Ethiopia's first AI lab.
iCog launched in 2013 and Ethiopia's tech industry is set to take off even faster this year following the liberalization of the country's economy under new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Abiy who took office in April, has part privatized a number of state owned companies including telecoms provider Ethio Telecom. It's a bid to hopefully pave the way for better internet access. The country is seeing huge changes following a government sanctioned internet blackout that took place prior to Abiy taking office.
African countries plan ambitious satellite 'smart cities'
Satellite cities, often billed as "smart cities" -- connected, tech-driven urban areas -- are being built by a number of African countries. Is this a solution to the continent's rapidly urbanizing population?
Konza Technological City, Kenya - As part of the Kenyan government's Vision 2030 project, Konza Technological City located 60km outside Nairobi, aims to become a world-class technological and innovation hub. The cost of the so-called "Silicon Savanna" is expected to reach an eye-watering $15.5bn.
See more of Africa's new cities.
The government plans to complete the techno city some time after 2030. The Konza Development Authority (KTDA) estimates Konza will bring in $1bn every year and create 100,000 jobs. There are critics, though, who are skeptical that techies will want to relocate away from Nairobi, already a buzzing technological hub.
The site, spread across 5,000 acres, will not only be a center of technology and education, but will provide new homes and leisure activities with shopping malls and other amenities. Kenya's ICT sector continues to
grow and is a world leader for mobile tech. The country wants this new "techno polis" to be a catalyst for the economy.
Is this Nigeria's answer to Dubai? Eko Atlantic is the ambitious multi-billion dollar project that aims to transform Lagos, the country's most populated city. Its creators want it to become the new financial hub for Nigeria -- bringing in 150,000 commuters every day.
Eko Atlantic is a privately funded project in partnership with the Lagos State Government. Once finished, it plans to be home to a quarter of a million people. The new city is connected off the Victoria Island, a district in Lagos.
Eko Atlantic is being built along Lagos's upmarket Bar Beach coastline. It will provide classy accommodation and high-tech infrastructure.
It's being constructed on 10 square kilometers of reclaimed land from the Atlantic Ocean, as shown in this satellite image.
Billed as the largest real estate project in Africa, Eko Atlantic is being built on tons of sand dredged from the Atlantic Ocean off the coast. However, construction has slowed as a result of Nigeria's economic stagnation.
A new mixed-use development for more than 150,000 residents, Tatu City was initiated by Rendeavour, "Africa's largest property developer." It's a 5,000 acre mixed-use development with schools, homes, sports facilities and green spaces.
It aims to be a new urban center outside the capital Nairobi, and businesses are already located in the locality. In an attempt to lure companies, the city has a special economic status providing lower businesses taxes.
Announced on Ghana's independence day in 2013, a $10bn super high-tech satellite city outside Accra planned to put the country on the map for technology. Ambitions were high, but since then the project has failed to make headway.
The project also aimed to host Africa's tallest building. The developers maintain it will still go ahead.
Hope City was designed by Italian firm Architect OBR, and is made up of six towers. The hub will include a hospital, university, housing and recreational areas.
It's the largest mixed-use development ever in South Africa, located between Pretoria and Johannesburg. It's expected to be complete by 2025, and could potentially create 86,000 jobs.
The project aspires to cater for all needs: schools, shopping malls and large green spaces. Global professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers is set to accommodate the area's first skyscraper.
Just outside of Rwanda's capital Kigali is Vision City, the country's largest housing project. It is part of the government's strategy to embrace "smart cities." The town square will have free wifi and the street lamps will be solar-powered.
Rwanda's capital city is undergoing a transformation. The 2020 Kigali Conceptual Masterplan plans to remodel Kigali into a high-rise, modern and tech-orientated city.
King City, developed by Rendeavour, is a mixed-use development in western Ghana. The site is near the country's mining region and hopes to capitalize on the growth of the sector. It's located near Ghana's third largest city, Takoradi.
Practical apps for the community
A guiding light at iCog Labs for a football playing robot. Image: Thomas Lewton.
One program Dessie leads on at iCog is "Solve IT", which works with young people to find technological solutions to community based problems.
Dessie travels the length and breadth of the country working with students (some up to five years her senior) to inspire the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs.
Being younger, she says, means she and other teachers are "more in touch with what the students are experiencing." In the same way women teaching women can be impactful, she adds, having had the same lived experiences.
Betelhem Dessie carries a prototype of Sophia the robot at iCog Labs. Image: Thomas Lewton.
Girls are a minority among the students attending "Solve IT", but for Dessie they have the most to contribute.
"The boys imagine more, they want to do something that's big and inspired, the girls they really want to help their community from the core," she explains.
Instead of space rockets and robots, the solutions put forward by the girls she teaches tend to be grounded and immediate - such as an SMS app that informs farmers about local weather conditions.
Dessie's passion for technology was, for the most part, supported growing up in relatively liberal Harar, but her experience isn't the norm in Ethiopia.
Teaching the basics of AI
In 2013, women accounted for a quarter of students enrolled in science and technology studies at university; while only eight percent of science researchers are women. "Unless you really are in the industry, there is no one to look up to in technology," says Dessie, pointing to this lack of female role models.
"Solve IT" students test their AI tractor at Mekele University in Ethiopia's far north. Image: Thomas Lewton.
"Anyone Can Code", is another project of Dessie's that teaches young Africans the basics of artificial intelligence, robotics, blockchain and other emerging technologies.
Read more: Teenage girls to launch Africa's first private space satellite
She is currently looking for funding for a project called "The Sophia School Bus."
"The bus will go around Ethiopia equipped with laptops and other electronic materials such as 3D printers to create more awareness on these technologies - using Sophia as a brand to attract," she explains.
With the help of Sophia the robot, Dessie hopes to inspire the next generation of coders in Ethiopia and Africa more broadly - particularly girls.
Asked why this is so important to her, she smiles.
"Who can solve the problem of a female if she cannot tell you the problem, and find her own solution?"
African innovations that could change the world
Welcome, to the bleeding-edge of African innovation: VR, 3D printing, AI and the rest. The continent isn't just driving technological change for Africa, but for the world. Click through to discover the inventions and innovations coming out of Africa.
3D printing - 3D printing is gaining traction in Africa. In 2013, WoeLabs tech hub in Togo made the first "Made in Africa" 3D printer from e-waste. They want to use the 3D printer to revolutionize Africa. They're starting by putting a machine in every school within 1km of the workshop. Buni Hub is another tech center, based in Tanzania, that is building 3D printers.
Pneumonia is a deadly condition. It's responsible for
16% of all deaths of children under five. A main contributing factor to this is slow diagnosis. Ugandan inventor Brian Turyabagye has created a biomedical smart jacket that can diagnose the condition four times faster than a doctor. It's also more accurate. It analyzes the chest and then sends the information via Bluetooth to a smartphone app.
Read more about this biomedical breakthrough.
African countries are developing groundbreaking technology for space exploration. Look no further than the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) in South Africa which, once completed, is set to be world's largest telescope. It will allow scientists to look many times deeper into space.
Read more about Africa's journeys into space.
VR has the potential to change many industries. One example is mining, a profession which has its dangers and risks. In an effort to create a safe yet accurate training environment, a team at the University of Pretoria, South Africa have a created the continent's first
VR mine. The center allows students and mining staff to train in a simulated mining environment. African filmmakers are also making forays into VR experimentation. Examples of recent releases are
Let This Be A Warning and
The Other Dakar.
'Made in Africa' cars are on the rise. Mobius Motors, pictured above, are a Kenyan based car company who are releasing the second model of their stripped-down, cost-effective but luxury SUV built for rough terrains. They aim to sell the car to the African mass market, and anywhere else in the world with poor quality roads.
Read more about Africa's car industries.
Nigerian inventor, Osh Agabi, has created a device that fuses live neurons from mice stem cells into a silicon chip -- for the first time. The device can be used to detect explosives and cancer cells.
Read more about Agabi's innovation.
Cameroonian entrepreneur, Arthur Zang, has invented a touch-screen heart monitoring device that records, and then sends heart activity to a national healthcare center for evaluation. It could have hugely positive potential for rural populations far from hospitals.
Read more about this device.
The South Africa based
drone software company aims to help farmers optimize their output using artificial intelligence. They have created a data-analytics platform, Aeroview, which combines satellite, drone and artificial intelligence technology to improve agricultural practices.
In Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, traffic is a huge issue -- like in many of the world's megacities. Drivers spend hours stuck in traffic jams. A team of Congolese engineers, based at the Kinshasa Higher Institute of Applied Technique, have created human-like robots to help tackle problem. The machines are equipped with four cameras that allow them to record traffic flow. The information is then transmitted to a center where it can be analyzed, and then used to direct traffic.
Read more about robots in Africa.
According to the
International Energy Agency over 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to electricity.
Off Grid Electric, an African startup backed by Elon Musk's Solar City, is looking to solve this by initiating the rapid supply of solar panels across Africa
They charge $7 a month for the system. It already powers 125,000 households.
Could this be a big step forward for the 1.3 billion people globally who lack access to electricity?
Read more about this solar-powered energy revolution.
Three developers from Kenya, Marvin Makau, Edwin Inganji and Kenneth Gachukia, have created a panic button app that sends a distress signal with the shake of a phone. The app,
Usalama, works by connecting people with emergency service providers, and sends their exact location when they shake their phone three times. It also alerts a next of kin and every other Usalama users within 200 meters. They're looking to expand their technology beyond the continent and help make people safer.
BeSpecular, an app from South Africa, allows volunteers to remotely assist blind people. The app uses an algorithm to connect the right people, those similar in age and physical location.
Read more about this app
.
Where the rest of the world has lagged behind, Africa has led the way with mobile payments.
M-Pesa is the most popular service and has 30 million users in 10 countries. Since it was first introduced 10 years ago, M-Pesa has inspired a range of similar services around the world and has helped reduce barriers to finance.
Read more about how Africa led the way with mobile payments
The Zamani Project, based in South Africa, is concerned with the preservation of African heritage sites. They use high-tech scanning systems which document these sites in remarkable detail.
Click here to read more about the project.
It's been the dream of sci-fi enthusiasts and inventors for decades, but has this Nigerian man created a flying jet car that can dodge traffic? Kehinde Durojaiye, or "Kenny Jet", is attempting to build an aero-amphibious jet car. He's driven it on sea and land. Now it's only the air that he has left to conquer.
Find out more about the potential of this flying car.