Berkai was born in Khartoum, Sudan, to Eritrean parents.[1] When she was a young child, her family fled from conflict in Eritrea and moved to London in the UK.[2]
During her A levels, Berkai attended the University College London (UCL) Widening Participation scheme's "Computer Science Summer School" and learned the Java programming language.[1] Berkai was the first member of her family to attend university.[3][4] She studied Information Management for Business at UCL then MSc Child Development at the University of Oxford.[5]
After graduating, Berkai voluntarily taught Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects to displaced children in Ethiopia and Eritrea.[3][6] She also worked for Amazon and Cisco.[1]
In 2020, Berkai founded Ambessa Play,[6][7] a social enterprise that co-designs DIY educational kits for children which support them to learn about STEM through play.[2][5] For each DIY kit which is purchased, Ambessa Play donate a kit to an out-of-school refugee for free.[8] By 2023, Ambessa Play had sold over 5,000 kits.[2]
