Kidist is a highly-driven and strategic leader with over 15 years of diverse experience across the financial, health, and education sectors with a particular lens on gender, innovation and technology. Her professional journey began in the USA, where she honed her skills in strategic operations, sales and team leadership while working and leading a private bank for over 5 years. This experience gave her a deep understanding of retail and digital banking, business growth, risk management, and sales.
Since returning to Ethiopia in 2016, Kidist transitioned into the public healthcare sector and quickly grew into a leadership role. Her contribution not only improved operational efficiency but also emphasized the importance of patient-centric care and sustainable healthcare delivery for underserved communities.
She returned to the USA to further her education and earned her Masters degree at Harvard University. Upon graduation, she moved back to Ethiopia to continue with her commitment to be a change-maker in Africa and founded a design-thinking research firm. She led various research projects supporting public and private organizations with data-driven strategies to address community needs and brought about innovative solutions that were practical, scalable, and impactful. The years of results from her research and advisory work was the spark of her decision to work on women's health long-term.
Now, as the founder of YeneHealth, Kidist is applying her wealth of experience to raise the bar in women’s healthcare delivery in Africa. YeneHealth, a fem-tech startup, is at the forefront of digital health, providing accessible, affordable and reliable products and services by leveraging technology. Under her leadership, YeneHealth has rapidly grown into a leading fem-tech brand in Ethiopia, raising pre-seed funding in its first year and expanding its offerings to include B2B services.
Each of these roles have sharpened Kidist’s ability to lead with empathy, innovate with purpose, and execute with precision. Her career has been marked by a continuous desire to make a meaningful impact that is driven by passion, commitment and outstanding leadership.
