Welcome to our interview with Dr. Bethel Samson, a recent medical graduate and a founder of a health tech startup focusing on women’s health. In this interview, we discuss Dr. Bethel’s journey as a medical doctor and entrepreneur, the inspiration behind her startup, and the challenges and successes she has faced along the way. Dr. Bethel shares her insights on the importance of self-care, the role of technology in Ethiopian healthcare, and the future of healthcare. The interview was conducted yesterday Dec 25th, 2022 via direct messages on Twitter. We hope you enjoy this interview with Dr. Bethel and find her insights and experiences valuable.
Dr. Bethel: Hello
Dahabesha: Hello Bethel…Dr. Bethel, my apologies. Hope you had a wonderful weekend.
Dr. Bethel: Lol it’s fine. Call me Betty. Hope you had a great weekend as well.
Dahaebsha: Yes Betty, we are celebrating Ferengi Christmas today. Thank you for making a time for me today. I’ll try to make my questions short and fun.
Dr. Bethel: It’s a pleasure honestly!
Dahabesha: Could you please tell me a little bit about yourself?
Dr. Bethel: I’m a recent medical graduate and a founder of a health tech startup that mainly focuses on Women’s health.
Dahabesha: How recent?
Dr. Bethel: Is that good? Lol…OCTOBER 2022 recent.
Dahabesha: Oh, I remember seeing your graduation pictures, Congratulations!!
Dr. Bethel: Thanks 😊
Dahabesha: Are you the only one from your family in the medical field?
Dr. Bethel: Nahh 😂 My dad and my brother are doctors. My mom isn’t a doctor, but she has all the medical advice you need lol.
Dahabesha: All our mothers are kind enough to provide medical advice of any kind 🤭. How many siblings do you have besides your brother?
Dr. Bethel: Just me and my older brother. How about you? Any siblings?
Dahabesha: I have brothers …none of them are doctors though…What made you want to become a doctor?
Dr. Bethel: I’ve always looked up to my dad and the way people respected him as a doctor. Plus, he was so passionate about his job and helping people that I wanted that for myself.
Dahabesha: Shout out to your dad… God knows how much we need awesome dads like your dad.
Dr. Bethel: He’s amazing. My whole family is so understanding and supportive tbh. They don’t always understand what I do around the health tech area but they literally support me and cheer me on.
Dahabesha: We are grateful for their support and holding you down because you are doing amazing things that would impact many people…shout out to the whole family. What is your entrepreneurial journey like so far?
Dr. Bethel: Thank you 😊…It’s been an adventure 😂 I never really thought I was gonna be an entrepreneur and tbh with you I’m still figuring it out. After Etege came out, my life changed overnight. I was introduced to the tech ecosystem in Addis, and I realized that I had a space to do my passion projects. I was blessed to have great mentors that helped guide me and now I’ve decided to go into it full time after graduation, I’m learning a lot.
Dahabesha: That’s nice. I’m glad you mentioned Etege. I love the name. I believe it captured the essence of the app’s mission. What made you wanna build that app?
Dr. Bethel: The name was a recommendation from a mentor. My mom and her sisters are the inspiration for Etege app. I was doing this project called double impact with the Ethiopian medical students Association where we were going to offices and teaching about breast and cervical cancer. Then we realized that there isn’t a comprehensive learning material on self-breast examination, so I wanted to build that. I wanted to build something that my mom and my aunts could use at home.
Dahabesha: That’s cool. What was the process of building the Etege app like?
Dr. Bethel: I found a software company that sponsored the app, and I was working on the content with a graphic designer. I learned a lot with Etege and then with SABA I applied what I learned.
Dahabesha: How challenging the first app was to build?
Dr. Bethel: The first one wasn’t that hard to be honest, but SABA was hard though.
Dahabesha: I see… when was Etege published on Google Play store?
Dr. Bethel: November 2019. Cause the functions (for SABA) were a bit more complex and I had to manage a large team by myself.
Dahabesha: You said that your life changed overnight after the publication of Etege on November 2019. How?
Dr. Bethel: Yes, exactly the publication of Etege lol.
Dahabehsa : hehe ( I meant to say since uploading the app 😭)
Dr. Bethel: I was going to meetings and interviews in between classes. I had to attend events. I was kinda living a double life.
Dahabesha: oh you were in class leka…
Dr. Bethel: I had to keep up with school as well as my tech life and one side didn’t really understand the other lol.
Dahabesha: I really admire your efforts. I am sure you have learned a lot from the experiences.
Dr. Bethel: I really did. It was an adventure, also it was a humbling experience lol.
Dahabesha: I bet!….Did you expect the reaction you got ? as far as the educational aspect of it.
Dr. Bethel: No I didn’t at all. It was supposed to be a school club project. It went viral.
Dahabesha: …as it should!
Dr. Bethel: I thought it was something I could just put on my CV and call it a day lol. But it took a life of its own and it changed mine. The support I got was incredible.
Dahabesha: I’m happy to hear about all that. What role does Etege app play now in breast awareness in Ethiopia?
Dr. Bethel: So, what we want to do is encourage women to get regular screening in order to detect the cancer in early stages. We have social media campaigns and community outreach programs with NGOs.
Dahabesha: How is the app being used by patients and healthcare professionals in Ethiopia? I should say…Women not patients.
Dr. Bethel: You can say both lol. The app now is mainly used by women who want to learn how to do breast examination at home and doctors use it to show and encourage screening.
Dahabesha: Is there a team behind Etege App? Are there any ongoing updates or improvements being made to the app?
Dr. Bethel: There was and we’re still working through our team. Yes, we are planning on adding a few more features while keeping it simple and very easy to use.
Dahabesha: Who supports the app financially?
Dr. Bethel: We had grants to make our apps so far but we’re working on becoming a sustainable social enterprise.
Dahabesha: Eshi, tell me about how you ended up creating another app? What inspired it and what was the most challenging part of making it?
Dr. Bethel: Saba was inspired by the period poverty movement.
Dahabesha: Which one?
Dr. Bethel: A TaYA panel discussion event and Twitter campaign by Jegnit. I realized that there is no period tracking applications in Amharic calendar. Also, I learned that comprehensive sexuality education was not available in local languages. So, I wanted to change that. I managed to secure a grant and partner with a team fresh software engineering graduate. Challenges is related to balance with medical school honestly. It was exhausting but I have a great team.
Dahabesha: I’m happy to hear about that. In comparison to Etege, what is the reaction to Saba?
Dr. Bethel: Saba is also well received amongst users thank God but it’s a bit controversial for governmental stakeholders so we’re trying to maneuver that. But we actually follow up with our users and their journey in on our platforms to learn about what they really need.
Dahabesha: Saba is available in multiple languages which is a bit different than Etege right?
Dr. Bethel: Yes. Also, we’re targeting a much younger audience and the topics we talk about are very focused on the health issues that they face.
Dahabesha: Based on user reviews, I am sure both apps were well received, but have any clinical studies been conducted to verify their effectiveness? Have you been approached by MOH about the apps?
Dr. Bethel: We have, and I think that Health tech is very new to Ethiopia. Tech in general is still very young. We still have to do our due diligence and do our research when it comes to delivery of the information and digital platforms, but MOH is now moving towards a digital health and innovative solutions.
Dahabesha: How do you envision your apps contributing to the field of Ethiopian medicine in the future?
Dr. Bethel: Well, I want to give users tools to better take care of their health. I want to increase the health seeking behavior as well as tackle the issue of unemployment of medical doctors.
Dahabesha: You are very kind to take the time to speak with me today, even though it is late over there. You can answer my two remaining questions together, I guess. Can you tell me what’s next for you and your team? The last question I have is…what advice would you give to others who are trying to break into the medical tech field?
Dr. Bethel: We’re working on the SABA health platform with major stakeholders and we’re going to be updating Etege soon so excited about that and to anyone who wants to join health tech, I say go for it! Start lean and work your way up and listen to your users.
Dahabesha: I think you’ve answered all my questions for now. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today. My admiration for you is immense. I have been following you and your work. I’d like to thank you on behalf of everybody.
Dr. Bethel: Thank you so much. I’m a big fan of your page as well. The way you support young women and girls through the period kits is amazing. It’s been a pleasure. Have a blessed week ahead 😊
You can follow Dr. Bethel on Twitter @itsDrBethelnow, and you can download her apps @SabaHealthET and @AppEtege from Google Play.
Author: Dahabesha
@dahabesha