There is no limit to our success if we combine the intellectual capital that resides in our community with the rich culture that is inherent within all of us.

by Teddy Fikre. Posted:  Thursday, June 24, 2010


Above: MIT graduates Bef Ayenew (left) and Ephraim Tekle, have launched a new Iphone application for the 2010 Ethio Soccer Tournament — scheduled from June 27 to July 3rd. -credit Tadias.com

So you are in San Jose, California for the annual ESFNA Soccer Tournament.  You are new to the city and you are already inundated with flyers about various events, parties, and cultural events.  You have no idea where to go or how to get there.  What do you do?  Simple, go to your iPhone and download ArifQuas and let your phone lead you the way.

ArifQuas is a new iPhone app that was developed by Bef Ayenew and Ephraim Tekle, two young Ethiopians who are advancing Ethiopian culture and events through the digital wonders of mobile applications.  Bef and Ephraim are both graduates of MIT and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who are founders of ArifSoft.  At a young age, Bef and Ephraim are already putting their intellectual capital to good use in ways that can tangibly benefit the community.  It might seem like a bit of a hyperbole to say that Arifquas is a revolutionary idea, but some of the most revolutionary ideas were born out of the smallest steps.

Not only can ArifQuas give you cultural and celebration events planned for the whole week of the tournament, the mobile app can also give real-time scores, weather, dinning destinations, and interfaces with Facebook and Twitter.  For those who are prone to getting lost in new cities, ArifQuas can also deliver you to your destination utilizing the iPhone’s integrated GPS system.  ArifQuas is only the first step for these two enterprising Ethiopians, the possibilities that exist for other mobile applications that can update the Ethiopian community about events and news customized to the user is literally endless.

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ArifQuas presents a very real potential for our communities history and culture to be disseminated to a wider audience outside of our community.   Beyond ArifQuas, Ephraim and Bef have already compiled an impressive array of Ethiopian songs on their other iPhone app service called ArifZefen, where listeners can listen to thousands of Ethiopian songs through their iPhone at no charge.  It just goes to show you that there is no limit to our success if we combine the intellectual capital that resides in our community with the rich culture that is inherent within all of us.  Bef and Ephraim embody this principle; so next time someone asks you is there a way to find out about Ethiopian culture, just respond “Yup, there’s an app for that!”