Made-in-Ethiopia apps and tech: ZayRide, Ride, Chapa, Kifiya and more. Which ones do you use?

Several local companies shape how people get around and pay. Here is a quick tour. ZayRide - Founded in 2016 by Habtamu Tadesse after he struggled to find reliable taxis in Addis Ababa. - Described as the first Ethiopian taxi service to take bookings through an app rather than texts or calls. - Expanded to Monrovia, Liberia, added a ride-sharing feature in 2023, and partnered with Addis Motor Taxi for motorcycle rides. Ride - A 2026 travel guide describes it as a locally built ride-hailing app for Addis Ababa only. - A 2020 Addis Fortune editorial counted 22 registered taxi-hailing companies in the city, including ZayRide, ETTA and Ride. Chapa - Licensed by the National Bank of Ethiopia in May 2022 as a payment gateway. Co-founded by Nael Hailemariam and Israel Goytom, incorporated in 2020. - Addis Fortune called it the first non-bank company offering payment gateway services in Ethiopia. Kifiya - Established in 2010. Built Lehulu, a unified billing system for services such as electricity and water, and partnered with Mastercard in 2017 on diaspora bill payments. Fares and availability change often, so check locally. Your turn: which local apps do you use daily, which work well outside Addis, and what is missing that a local developer should build?