Fasika Mekbib
Founder & CEO at AXUM SEC Technology PLC
Professional Background
Fasika Mekbib is the Founder and CEO of AXUM SEC, Africa's first unified bug bounty and penetration testing platform. He also serves as a Senior Application Security Pentester at Banks and as an Application Penetration Tester at INSA (Information Network Security Agency), Ethiopia's national cyber security agency.
In his roles at INSA, Fasika conducts critical security assessments on financial and government systems. He tests web applications, mobile apps, APIs, and network infrastructure for vulnerabilities that could compromise national security or customer funds.
The AXUM SEC Journey
Fasika started building AXUM SEC at age 17. He had no laptop, no team, and no funding. Just a phone and Termux. He learned to root his phone, hacked WiFi networks, and even built his own APK to intercept HTTP requests because he could not run Burp Suite.
Over 4+ years, he taught himself full-stack development and built 90% of the entire AXUM SEC platform
Today, AXUM SEC has 500+ registered ethical hackers, has tested 110+ systems, and is validated by INSA and incubated by the Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute.
Technical Expertise
- Full-stack software development (Node.js, Python, React)
- Application security testing
- Web and API penetration testing
- Mobile security assessment
- Platform architecture and system design
- Database design and optimization
Leadership Philosophy
Fasika believes that the best founders build before they ask. He spent 4 years building with no salary before seeking a team or funding. He also believes that African technology must be built by Africans, not adapted from foreign markets.
"I did not wait for the perfect setup. I built my own setup from a phone. I did not wait for a team. I became the team. I did not wait for funding. I built for 4 years with no salary."
Beyond Work
When not building AXUM SEC or testing systems, Fasika mentors young Ethiopian hackers. He has trained over 200 students through INSA's summer camp program, showing them how to learn cyber security using just a phone. Many of those students are now registered on AXUM SEC.
Recognition
- Validated by INSA (Ethiopian national cyber security agency)
- Incubated by Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute (EAII) – inaugural cohort
- Built AXUM SEC recognized as Ethiopia's first unified bug bounty platform