Ethio Telecom, Hybrid Designs sign agreement for Telebirr partnership, online sales delivery via Ride transport service

Ethio Telecom and Hybrid Designs PLC signed a contractual agreement that will enable customers’ access to telecom products and services through Ride transport service at their convenient time and place using “Telebirr” digital payment system.

Telebirr is an easy, fast, convenient and secure transaction platform for the settlement of any service payments.

The partnership contractual agreement signed between the two companies today at the Headquarters of Ethio Telecom is mainly aimed at integrating telecom and telebirr services with the Ride transport service platform, which is provided by Hybrid Designs, so as to meet the ever growing demand of the customers on telecom products and services accessibility and optional payment platforms, thereby providing fast and secure alternative services to customers.

“The new agreement will be provided at an affordable price,” said Frehiwot Tamiru, CEO of Ethio Telecom during the agreement program.

The telecom giant has launched telegebeya online sales channel recentlyt—which is a new and an alternative sales platform that enables customers to purchase Ethio telecom’s products easily from their whereabouts coupled with the company’s existing 509 point of sales and 185 franchise shops together with over 40,000 Ride transport service provider drivers.

The drivers will be in charge of delivering and selling Ethio Telecom’s products and services that would widen its presence and accessibility to millions of customers.

In line with the agreement, in addition to getting settled transport service fares via telebirr, Ride transport serving drivers as telebirr agents will engage in collecting monthly ethio telecom and utility bill payments, registering new telebirr customers, upgrading telebirr customer levels, providing cash in and cash out services, airtime, packages and new SIM cards sales, providing SIM replacement services to customers along with providing many other package delivery services to customers on behalf of Ethio telecom.

Samrawit Fikru, CEO of Hybrid Designs for her part said that the partnership has a significant contribution for Ride.

The agreement will enhance the digital literacy in Ethiopia, Samrawit said.

Telebirr payment platform was launched a year ago and it has been very successful mainly because of its simplicity of use. The platform has been playing paramount roles since the very first day it came to be operational in easing the society’s ways of lives in particular and the digital financial inclusions in general.

This platform has soon managed to attract 19.4 million subscribers, more than 82 master agents, over 69 thousand agents and more than 18 thousand merchants within a short span of time as well as it has been integrated with 12 banks to transfer money from bank to telebirr and with 10 banks to transfer money from telebirr to bank.

As the platform is widely preferable in the society for e-money payments, over 18.7 billion-birr transactions has been made so far.

Close to 57 governmental and non-governmental service providers are so far integrated into Telebirr.