Transforming Authentication: The Journey of an Ethiopian Developer to Global Infrastructure Success
A Visionary from Ethiopia Making Waves Worldwide
It is rare to see a solo founder from Africa create a developer infrastructure tool that gains widespread acclaim.Bereket Engida, a self-taught programmer based in Ethiopia, has quietly crafted one of the most efficient authentication frameworks embraced by developers around the globe.
Introducing Better Auth: Redefining User Authentication for developers
Better Auth is an open source platform designed to simplify how developers manage user authentication. recently, it attracted nearly $5 million in seed funding from notable investors such as Peak XV (formerly Sequoia India and Southeast Asia), Y Combinator, P1 Ventures, and chapter One.
Remarkably, Engida developed this entire product while still residing in Ethiopia before ever setting foot in the United States.
The Self-Taught coder Addressing Real-World Challenges
Engida’s programming journey began at 18 when he was denied help on an e-commerce search feature request. Driven by necessity,he taught himself coding and secured remote software progress roles. He later built a web analytics tool that allowed developers to monitor user behavior on their websites effectively.
Throughout his career, Engida repeatedly faced hurdles related to authentication-a critical aspect for any submission involving sign-ins, password resets, or permission management. Existing solutions like Auth0, Firebase, and NextAuth often fell short due to concerns over external data storage risks, limited customization capabilities, or escalating costs as usage scaled.
“I needed institutional features common in SaaS apps but couldn’t find them among existing providers,” Engida reflected. “Creating it myself took just two weeks; that’s when I realized there had to be a smarter way.”
A Fresh Take: Crafting scalable Authentication with TypeScript
Dismissing his initial project idea led Engida toward building an innovative TypeScript-based authentication framework empowering developers with open source libraries capable of handling complex permission scenarios-such as teams and roles-right out of the box while supporting extensibility through plug-ins.
“Our mission was enabling elegant features using only two or three lines of code,” he explained.
The Meteoric Rise of Better Auth: Adoption & Community Growth
Working mainly from his bedroom over six months resulted in Better Auth’s first version. After its GitHub launch in September 2024, it quickly gained momentum among global developer communities.
- The libary now enjoys over 150,000 weekly downloads;
- A GitHub star count surpassing 15,000;
- An active Discord community exceeding 6,000 members;
- This rapid growth underscores its expanding influence across developer ecosystems worldwide.
An Open Source Framework Prioritizing Data Sovereignty
The key attraction lies in granting developers full control by embedding authentication directly into their backend systems without depending on third-party hosted services that store sensitive user data externally-a vital advantage for organizations emphasizing privacy compliance amid tightening regulations like GDPR and CCPA worldwide.
Catering Specifically To emerging AI Startups’ Demands
An unexpected surge came from early-stage AI startups needing highly customizable auth flows integrated seamlessly with proprietary APIs while securely managing tokens at scale without incurring prohibitive costs-better Auth fits this niche perfectly.
“We’ve seen remarkable adoption among next-generation AI companies we support,” says Arnav Sahu from Peak XV.“Better Auth addresses unique challenges these startups face.”
Lasting Expansion while Staying True To Its Roots
Proudly marking Peak XV’s first direct investment into an African founder-led startup, Better Auth remains free today but plans include launching paid enterprise-grade infrastructure layered atop its open source core.
- This hybrid approach will provide flexible self-hosted options alongside cloud-based enhancements;
- A dedicated team will soon assist with ongoing codebase maintenance;
- User documentation will be expanded substantially;
- Enterprise customer support improvements are underway;
- till then Engida continues hands-on development personally ensuring quality remains uncompromised despite scaling ambitions.
Pioneering A Path For African Tech innovators on The World Stage
< p > Having recently graduated from Y Combinator’s spring cohort , Better Auth stands as only the third Ethiopian startup accepted after drone-powered health company Avion and food delivery platform Beu Delivery.< p >< strong >“This endeavor transcends product success,”< / strong > says Engida . < em >“Few Ethiopian founders build products used globally – manny consider it nearly impossible . Our progress inspires others here who dare dream bigger.”< / em >
