Ethio telecom, Ethiopia’s national digital services provider, and the Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Supply Service (EPSS) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to design and deploy a smart, secure, and data-driven supply chain solution for medicines and medical supplies across the country.
EPSS Director-General, Abdulkader Gelgelo, said the agreement is expected to strengthen the national health system by ensuring greater availability, quality, and affordability of medical products. Health Minister, Mekdes Daba, welcomed the initiative, describing it as an important step toward modernizing healthcare delivery in Ethiopia.
According to Yohannes Getahun, Ethio telecom’s Chief Officer of Enterprise Solutions, the project forms part of the company’s three-year ‘NEXT HORIZON: Digital & Beyond 2028 Strategy.’ He said the partnership with EPSS demonstrates how digital tools can support essential sectors such as healthcare, logistics, and finance.
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Smart Supply Chain Solution
Under the MoU, the two institutions will collaborate on a smart, secure, and data-driven health supply chain solution that streamlines the end-to-end flow of medicines and medical goods nationwide.
Key Features Include:
- Unified Command & Control: A centralized platform consolidating real-time operational data and alerts to enable faster decision making and quicker incident response.
- AI-Assisted Safeguards: Video analytics (including facial and license-plate recognition, plus behavior analysis) to strengthen security, protect assets, and reduce pilferage.
- Modern Access & Visitor Management: Biometric systems for warehouses and offices, with streamlined visitor identification and registration processes.
- Operational Intelligence: Smart video analytics for crowd monitoring (including night vision), driver and store controls, plus integrated monitoring for fuel, doors, and storage conditions.
- Resilient Infrastructure: High-reliability internet connectivity, UPS backup for critical sites, modern control rooms, and an EV charging station supporting up to eight vehicles simultaneously.
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Expected impact
The collaboration is expected to enable faster, data-driven decision making across EPSS operations; reduce manual workloads through early warnings and automation; improve medicine management and inventory accuracy; strengthen asset protection and regulatory compliance; and enhance service quality and delivery efficiency from warehouses to last-mile scenarios.
The MoU reflects a core element of Ethio telecom’s three-year strategy, which emphasizes enterprise and sector-specific digital solutions to help institutions modernize, scale efficiently, and improve citizen services.
