Melat is a consultant from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, serving multinational clients and is committed to building inclusive and ethical financial systems. She earned a full scholarship at age 14 to attend Kallamino Special High School, a highly competitive science boarding school, where living independently sparked her early interest in finance through the practical discipline of budgeting and resource management.
She went on to study software engineering at Mekelle University, driven by a desire to combine technology and finance to expand economic access. Her studies were interrupted by the outbreak of war in Tigray, an experience that profoundly shaped her understanding of finance as a tool for human resilience. During the communication blackout, Melat co-founded a small, student-led microenterprise with her peers to meet basic needs on campus an initiative that reinforced her belief that finance, at its core, is about dignity, trust, and collective survival.
After returning to Addis Ababa, Melat started pursuing her bachelor's degree in accounting and finance and graduated with a CGPA of 3.99/4.0 receiving a certificate of academic excellence. During her studies Melat interned at Stockmarket.et, where she helped develop financial education content for Qnie Finance, a mobile app aimed at improving financial literacy among young Ethiopians. She also proposed a digital remittance platform to support the Tigrayan diaspora in sending money home safely and fairly, addressing the risks of informal exchange systems while balancing market incentives with social protection. Melat has also served as volunteer program lead at Global society of Tigray Scholars.
Melat’s long-term vision is to contribute to the development of transparent, inclusive capital markets in Ethiopia, particularly as the country has launched its first securities exchange Market. She aims to pursue advanced training in Financial Economics and business leadership abroad for her master's degree, and ultimately return home to work with public institutions and development banks to design regulations, diaspora investment vehicles, and financing pathways for women-led and underserved businesses.
Grounded in the sacrifices of her parents a housewife mother and a long-distance fuel truck driver father Melat approaches leadership as service. Her work is guided by empathy, systems thinking, and a deep sense of responsibility to the communities that shaped her.
