Industrial Research Unit · Straits Institute for Applied AI
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.
Your essential monthly update on Applied AI, with Ethiopia specially tracked.
Services 36.6% · Industry 27.8% · Agriculture 32.8% of gross value added — World Bank, 2025
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Evidence of adoptionGovernment & Public SectorEthiopia8 Oct 2026
Ethiopian government leaders train in AI through a UAE-run executive programme
Government of Ethiopia — Government of Ethiopia leaders are receiving AI training for government leaders from the UAE Government Experience Exchange Office at the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs with Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University. The AI Executive Leadership Programme blends knowledge-sharing visits, practical workshops and training sessions on governance, capacity building, AI strategies and government applications. In the UAE the cohort toured 15 government institutions and organisations, including the Prime Minister's Office, the Artificial Intelligence Office, the Dubai Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, and met Minister of Cabinet Affairs Mohammad Al Gergawi, a public-sector AI capacity building exchange.
RegulationGovernment & Public SectorEthiopia4 Sep 2026
IGAD starts drafting a regional AI framework and strategy
Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) — The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) held two-day talks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, towards a Regional Artificial Intelligence Framework and Strategy and shared regional AI policy. Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu opened discussions meant to yield a draft steering Member States on AI for sustainable growth. The Food Systems Resilience Programme for Eastern and Southern Africa underwrites the cross-border AI governance.
DeploymentGovernment & Public SectorEthiopia30 Jul 2026
Ethiopia's Federal Supreme Court activates AI-powered smart courtrooms
Federal Supreme Court of Ethiopia — More than 35 courtrooms in Ethiopia's federal high courts and first-instance benches now run smart-court upgrades, after the Federal Supreme Court switched on extra units backed by the European Union. AI-powered voice-to-text transcription in the judiciary, or speech-to-text conversion in court proceedings, turns testimony straight into text, replacing headphone-and-typing work by staff. President Tewodros Mehret tied this to faster, accessible justice.
Evidence of adoptionGovernment & Public SectorEthiopia4 Jul 2026
Ethiopia trains federal employees in AI for government
Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute — Ethiopia's federal government finished an AI for government training programme on generative AI, prompt engineering and applied-AI tools. The Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute led it with Addis Ababa University and the United Nations Development Programme under the AI UniPod framework, following government AI training already run in Dire Dawa and Sidama, with nationwide expansion planned.
DeploymentGovernment & Public SectorEthiopia20 Jun 2026
Ethiopia launches MESOB unified platform with AI for public services
Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute — One app now handles Ethiopia's AI public services: the Unified MESOB Platform, built by the Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute, merges federal agency functions into a single web and mobile portal. Abiy Ahmed opened it, while Worku Gachena credits it with cutting red tape and sharpening openness, part of a broader shift toward digitised citizen access nationwide.
DeploymentGovernment & Public SectorEthiopia31 Mar 2026
Ethio Telecom launches teleSign with AI identity verification
Ethio Telecom — Ethio Telecom's new teleSign platform verifies users through AI identity verification, matching facial biometric verification via liveness-detection video against the Fayda National Digital ID instead of an office visit. Citizens and diaspora Ethiopians use it to confirm paperwork, assign or withdraw legal representation, and apply for professional licences from a phone or browser. Ethiopia's Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Documents Authentication and Registration Service partnered on development.
RegulationGovernment & Public SectorEthiopia2 Mar 2026
Ethiopia approves regulation to establish Medemer AI University
Council of Ministers of Ethiopia — Ethiopia's Council of Ministers cleared rules creating the Medemer Artificial Intelligence University, a self-governing state campus in Addis Ababa for AI higher education and advanced computational sciences. The measure fixes its leadership, independence and teaching remit. Under Digital Ethiopia 2030, its AI tertiary education prepares graduates in robotics, machine learning, advanced computing and data science.
Evidence of adoptionGovernment & Public SectorEthiopia27 Feb 2026
Ethiopian Human Rights Commission trains staff on AI and human rights
Ethiopian Human Rights Commission — Addis Ababa hosted a session where Ethiopian Human Rights Commission staff studied AI and human rights, examining how fast-growing AI affects rights protections nationwide. Trainers weighed AI's benefits against risks like bias, injustice and data protection breaches. EHRC folded this artificial intelligence rights protection work into its 2026-2030 strategic plan, listing further AI activities ahead.
Addis Ababa City Administration — Addis Ababa City Administration switched on the Integrated Civil Registration and Residency Service Technology, an AI-powered civil registration platform, across 50 woredas from 8 December 2025. The Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute built this digitised civil registration system, linking vital events registration with residency identification for smartphone use. Mayor Adanech Abiebie called it a decisive move toward digitised services.
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.
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.
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.
RegulationGovernment & Public SectorEthiopia27 Jun 2024
National Artificial Intelligence Policy
Council of Ministers, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia — Ethiopia's Council of Ministers has cleared the country's first National Artificial Intelligence Policy, passed together with a batch of other bills and draft policies in the same sitting. This Ethiopia AI policy sets priorities spanning health, finance, agriculture and security, anchored in data governance, ethics and skills-building. Oversight of rollout falls to the Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute, named as the lead authority steering AI regulation nationwide.
RegulationGovernment & Public SectorEthiopia23 Apr 2022
Council of Ministers Regulation No. 510/2022 establishing the Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute
Council of Ministers, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia — Council of Ministers Regulation No. 510/2022 creates the Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute (EAII), an autonomous federal body reporting directly to the Prime Minister. This Ethiopia AI regulation assigns the EAII national AI research, policy advice, technology certification and national-security data analysis. That AI governance measure replaced the Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Center.
CBE deploys AI to assess transaction fraud risk in real time
Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) — Commercial Bank of Ethiopia now runs AI-driven fraud detection in banking, scoring each payment for risk via an AI-powered fraud management system built on behavioural analytics. A flagged score triggers a freeze, decline or extra check, spotting hijacked accounts, mule networks and coordinated fraud rings. Models keep updating as tactics evolve.
ZamZam Bank and Addis Ababa Chamber launch AI-based SME lending scheme
ZamZam Bank — ZamZam Bank and the Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce now back small firms lacking pledgeable assets, using AI-based SME lending to judge applicants purely on repayment capacity. Loans of 60,000 to 1 million birr flow to chamber members via Ansar Digital Financing, built with Kifiya Financial Technology. This algorithm-driven credit assessment had already reached over 10,000 SMEs with more than 1.1 billion birr beforehand.
National Bank of Ethiopia deploys AI to detect suspicious transactions
National Bank of Ethiopia — AI transaction monitoring in banking is now catching irregular activity across Ethiopia, credited to the National Bank of Ethiopia under Governor Mamo Mihertu. This AI-powered fraud detection system, spanning lenders and fintech operators, has already frozen 138 accounts linked to suspicious dealings. The rollout, officials say, feeds into a broader campaign against illicit cross-border transfers and terrorism financing.
Kifiya uses AI credit scoring to deliver 35bn birr in collateral-free loans
Kifiya Financial Technology — Kifiya Financial Technology's AI credit scoring has unlocked over 35 billion Ethiopian birr in collateral-free financing for 467,700 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, backed by the Mastercard Foundation. Alternative data and predictive analytics replace conventional credit history, reaching 355,027 women entrepreneurs and sustaining a million jobs. This algorithmic loan assessment aids collateral-free capital access.
Oromia Bank launches Miliki app with AI credit scoring
Oromia Bank — Oromia Bank's Miliki app grants collateral-free loans up to 300,000 birr via AI credit scoring, weighing spending patterns, financial history and non-traditional data. Built with fintech partner Quantum Technology, it extended credit to over 7,000 borrowers during its trial run, evidence of strong latent demand for AI-driven lending among women, youth and informal workers excluded from conventional finance.
Health extension workers in seven regions use HEP Assist, an AI assistant built for remote areas.
DeploymentHealthcare & Life SciencesEthiopia26 May 2026
Addis Ababa inaugurates East Africa's first AI-powered hospital
Lafto Specialized Hospital — East Africa's first AI-powered hospital, Lafto Specialized Hospital, opened with 500 beds in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Oncology and heart patients get an AI-assisted PET unit and 3D mammography, while lab testing runs fully robotic — medicine built on AI in healthcare.
DeploymentHealthcare & Life SciencesEthiopia2026-04
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.
DeploymentHealthcare & Life SciencesEthiopia6 Mar 2026
Ethiopia rolls out AI-PRESCRIBER decision support at 13 hospitals
Armauer Hansen Research Institute / Ministry of Health — AI-PRESCRIBER decision support in Ethiopian hospitals begins operating at 13 sites after specialists finished joint instruction from the Armauer Hansen Research Institute and Ministry of Health. Each facility sent one trained clinician back to embed the AI clinical decision support system into routine care, aimed at lifting adherence to Standard Treatment Guidelines.
DeploymentHealthcare & Life SciencesEthiopia26 Sep 2025
Ethiopia rolls out 195 AI-powered X-ray machines for TB screening
Ethiopian Ministry of Health — Ethiopia's Ministry of Health has deployed 195 machines for AI-powered X-ray TB screening nationwide, backed by a 2.6 billion birr investment across regional health facilities. Some 250 health workers were trained to run the AI tuberculosis detection equipment, which reads chest radiographs and flags likely cases for faster diagnosis and treatment.
DeploymentHealthcare & Life SciencesEthiopia5 Jun 2025
Addis Ababa pilots AI-powered X-ray diagnosis at Yekatit 12 Hospital
Addis Ababa City Administration — Chest scans at Yekatit 12 Hospital now pass through an AI-powered X-ray diagnosis tool built by RadiSen, deployed by Addis Ababa's city administration since 5 June 2025. Called AXIR-CX, the system performs AI chest X-ray analysis to spot tuberculosis, pneumonia and other lung abnormalities straight from digital images without waiting on a radiologist. Officials frame the rollout as part of Smart Living, a strand of the capital's Smart City agenda aimed at upgrading how healthcare gets delivered.
EIAR pilots AI systems for poultry, dairy and enset disease detection
Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research — Early Newcastle warnings, enset bacterial wilt flags and chicken growth tracking now fall under one AI agriculture systems effort from the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), built alongside the Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute and GPS PLC. Dairy tools and poultry stress sensors join the trial at Holeta Agricultural Research Center, backing smarter livestock and crop disease detection nationwide.
ATI launches OpenAgriNet AI-powered digital platform for Ethiopian farmers
Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute — OpenAgriNet (OAN) went live across Ethiopia on 3 February 2026, unveiled by the Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI) as a Digital Public Infrastructure serving as the countrywide backbone bringing AI in agriculture to Ethiopian smallholders. Farmers reach it mainly by voice, receiving guidance shaped by their own plot's crop mix, soil type and local climate. Open technical standards and consent-driven rules for handling personal data underpin the network, which ties together growers, extension officers, buyers, climate forecasts and lenders as one AI-powered digital platform for farmers.
Secondary teachers are piloting an AI assistant that runs fully offline.
RegulationEducation & TrainingEthiopia17 May 2026
Ethiopia's education ministry starts drafting AI policy with UNESCO
Ministry of Education — Ethiopia's Ministry of Education is drafting a National Artificial Intelligence and Education Policy with UNESCO, covering AI in education policy nationwide. UNESCO's international experts are helping shape ethical, inclusive standards for AI adoption across education levels.
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.
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.
Ethiopia launches AI-powered freight transport management system
Ministry of Transport and Logistics — Ethiopia's Ministry of Transport and Logistics and the Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute built the Integrated Freight Transport Management System (IFTMS) for AI freight transport management nationwide. It gives officials one view of cargo, cutting guesswork. Backers expect less waste, with AI-driven cargo oversight replacing manual tracking.
DeploymentManufacturing, Energy & ResourcesEthiopia26 Jun 2026
Ethiopian Electric Utility deploys AI across national power grid to prevent blackouts
Ethiopian Electric Utility — Preventing blackouts nationwide now hinges on an AI power grid rollout by Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU). Vulnerable sections are flagged automatically, and emerging faults get diagnosed on the spot, swapping reactive fixes for predictive fault detection. Getu Geremew tied the shift to fresh handheld kit for field crews plus a Huawei tie-up modernising backbone communications.
M-PESA Ethiopia and Gebeya launch Dala AI Bundle for creators
M-PESA Ethiopia — M-PESA Ethiopia and Gebeya Inc. have launched the Dala AI Bundle, letting subscribers pay via M-PESA wallets for AI content creation in Ethiopia. Dala Studio covers app building, AI agent design, gaming, comics and material in Amharic, Oromo and other local languages, described as the first case of an African mobile-money operator folding such generative tools into a mainstream offering.
Your essential monthly update on Applied AI, with Ethiopia specially tracked
We research and keep track of applied AI globally. Ethiopia's record gained 1 entry in October. Your next dispatch will open with Ethiopia, then the most important news about how AI is being used, applied and regulated globally.
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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 4731 entries across 249 countries.
Ethiopia8 Oct 2026
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