Straits Institute for Applied AI
Go toAI+Library
Industrial Research Unit · Straits Institute for Applied AI
Flag of Ethiopia

Applied AI in Ethiopia

Ethiopia's AI record reaches where services are thinnest — an AI assistant for remote health extension workers, an offline AI helper for secondary teachers — under the national AI policy approved in June 2024.

AI readiness
0.25
Rank 166 of 171 — IMF AI Preparedness Index
On the record
6
entries across 4 industries
National programme
2024
National Artificial Intelligence Policy
National programme

National Artificial Intelligence Policy

Announced 2024.

Services 36.6% · Industry 27.8% · Agriculture 32.8% of gross value added — World Bank, 2025

Kind
Role
6 entries

Government & Public Sector

3
DeploymentGovernment & Public SectorEthiopia26 Nov 2025

Oromia Supreme Court partners with AI Institute for Afaan Oromo transcription

Supreme Court of Oromia — Afaan Oromo court hearings will get an AI court transcription system under a new pact between Ethiopia's Supreme Court of Oromia and the Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute (EAII), turning spoken arguments into written records automatically. Slow manual conversion of oral testimony had long frustrated the Oromia bench, prompting the collaboration. EAII's Dr Worku Gachena called natural language processing central to the institute's mission, framing this as an instance of automated speech-to-text for legal proceedings.

judgetechreviewafrica.com
DeploymentGovernment & Public SectorEthiopia10 Oct 2025

Ethiopia launches AI customs chatbot and passenger risk system

Ethiopian Customs Commission — Ethiopia's Customs Commission gained four digital tools built by the Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute: an AI customs chatbot, an AI-powered Passenger Risk Management System serving as a passenger screening tool, electronic cargo tracking, and smart border control management. Abiy Ahmed backed the rollout, citing hopes for less smuggling and clearer border dealings.

customs officertechreviewafrica.com
DeploymentGovernment & Public SectorEthiopia13 Jul 2025

Ethiopian Federal Police signs deal for AI-powered smart station

Ethiopian Federal Police Commission — Ethiopia's Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute and Ethiopian Federal Police Commission signed a deal to build a Smart Police Station, positioning the country as a leader in AI-driven policing. EAII's Worku Gachena said the project folds AI solutions into policing nationwide. It follows an earlier EFPApp partnership credited with strengthened operational efficiency.

police officeraddisfortune.news

Education & Training

1

Secondary teachers are piloting an AI assistant that runs fully offline.

DeploymentEducation & TrainingEthiopia2026-05

Ethiopia pilots an offline AI assistant for secondary teachers

Ethiopian Ministry of Education — Ethiopia's Ministry of Education and Huawei began trialling a national-curriculum AI teacher assistant for grades 9 to 12 on 14 May 2026. Working entirely without internet access, the classroom AI lets teachers draft exams and lesson plans faster where networks are weak.

Secondary school teacheraddisfortune.news

Healthcare & Life Sciences

1

Health extension workers in seven regions use HEP Assist, an AI assistant built for remote areas.

DeploymentHealthcare & Life SciencesEthiopia11 Apr 2026

Ethiopia gives remote health extension workers an AI assistant

Ethiopian Ministry of Health — Ethiopia's Ministry of Health and US-based Last Mile Health have introduced HEP Assist, an AI assistant for health extension workers serving remote communities, across seven regions and 15 woredas. Answers come solely from 100 Ministry of Health guidelines through retrieval-augmented generation. Officials credit the workers' AI tool with over 6,000 consultations since January 2025, initially via call agents, now hands-on.

Health extension workerthereporterethiopia.com

Transport & Logistics

1

Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics lets importers and exporters handle cargo through an AI-driven self-service platform.

DeploymentTransport & LogisticsEthiopia4 Sep 2026

Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics automates cargo handling with an AI platform

Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics — Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics unveiled Digital ESL, an AI logistics platform for web and mobile, in Addis Ababa. Importers, exporters and partners place orders, schedule container loading and follow cargo any time, anywhere; the state-owned operator says AI algorithms remove human handoffs. The self-service system replaces paper clearance at Ethiopia's dry ports and sea supply routes.

Freight forwarding agentethiopiatoday.net
Latest on the record
  • DeploymentEthiopian Shipping and Logistics automates cargo handling with an AI platformTransport & Logistics4 Sep 2026ethiopiatoday.net
Sub-Saharan Africa
Ethiopia0.25South Africa0.50Nigeria0.34Benin—Kenya0.45Somalia—DR Congo—Ghana0.43Cameroon—Central African Republic—Rwanda0.44South Sudan—Zimbabwe—
Method and sources

Every entry on this page is a named organisation putting AI to work in a real job, taken from the State of Applied AI record. Each one is traced to the report it came from and dated, and where a figure is the organisation’s own the entry says so rather than presenting it as an independent result. Readiness, ecosystem and policy figures, where shown, are attributed on the card to the body that published them.

The record is maintained continuously by the Industrial Research Unit of the Straits Institute for Applied AI: entries are added as they are found and verified, not on a schedule, and nothing is published without an open source behind it. It currently holds 1114 entries across 249 countries.