Ethiopian Airlines, the largest aviation group in Africa, has teamed up with Abay Bank to offer an additional digital payment option for buying air tickets through Ethiopian mobile app.
The airline is a pioneer in Ethiopia’s e-commerce market and a major player in Africa’s digital payment industry, offering user-friendly solutions to its customers.
Miretab Teklaye, Director of Integrated Marketing Communications at Ethiopian Airlines, said: “We are delighted to team up with Abay Bank and add one more digital payment option into our e-commerce platform to ensure customers’ convenience across all touchpoints. Digitalisation being one of the core elements of Vision 2025, we are continuously adapting agile systems in line with global technology trends to deliver unmatched customer experience. As a customer-centric airline, we will continue to roll out more digital options, always keeping the convenience of our passengers in mind.”
Belete Dagnew, Vice President – Corporate Service at Abay Bank, added: “Since its establishment, Abay Bank has been working hard to meet the needs of its customers using state-of-the-art technology. Currently, the number of mobile banking service users of the bank has reached over 125,000, and based on the contractual agreement signed between the Bank and Ethiopian, customers can now pay for their airline tickets booked at Ethiopian Airlines using the Bank’s mobile banking service USSD code *812# in a simple and easy way or at any of Abay Bank’s branches.”
Contributing 44% of the airline’s domestic sectors online sales, Ethiopian’s user-friendly mobile app offers six international and 13 local payment options. The app is made available in three local languages, Amharic, Afan Oromo and Tigrinya.
Meanwhile, Sanad Aerotech (Sanad), the leading provider of aircraft engine maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) solutions and part of Sanad – a wholly owned subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala), has elevated its business expansion ambitions in Africa by signing a landmark agreement with Ethiopian Airlines.
The agreement paves the way for Sanad and Ethiopian Airlines to collaborate and maximise on untapped MRO business opportunities in the region. The initial phase of the agreement will see Sanad and Ethiopian Airlines establishing a Centre of Excellence for the repair and overhaul of auxiliary power units (APU) in Addis Ababa and will start with APU’s used on B737 and A320 aircraft. This will pave the way for future collaboration in the provision of APU MRO services to other African airlines.
The strategic alliance also has future aspirations to expand capabilities to include aircraft components and aircraft engine MRO.
The latest agreement between Sanad and Ethiopian Airlines builds on a 2018 MoU to collaborate on APU capabilities, among others.
Mansoor Janahi, Sanad Aerotech CEO, said: “Sanad continues to push ahead with its strategy of expanding a global presence through strategic alliances with well-established companies that share the same vision for quality and excellence.
“Our strategic alliance with Ethiopian Airlines goes beyond this announcement, as it provides greater opportunities for us to jointly collaborate and develop mutually beneficial activities across the entire African continent.”
Ethiopian Airlines Group Chief Executive Officer, Tewolde Gebre Mariam, added: “This Strategic Alliance with Sanad Aerotech is consistent with Ethiopian Airlines vision of making its MRO facility the leading MRO service provider in Africa through strategic partnerships with OEMs and selected international MRO Service Providers.”
Sanad has built strategic relationships with leading international OEMs including Rolls-Royce, General Electric (GE) and International Aero Engines (IAE), which have enabled Sanad to deliver competitive aircraft engine MRO expertise throughout a variety of engine maintenance service programs across multiple engine platforms.
New SAP ERP system is inaugurated
The Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU) has held celebrations at its primary data centre in Addis Ababa to officially inaugurate its new SAP ERP system.
The ribbon cutting ceremony was attended by honorary guest, State Minister of the Energy Sector within the Ministry of Water Irrigation and Electricity for Ethiopia, H.E Dr Frehiwot Woldehanna, as well as several other dignitaries and senior executives.
The celebration, which marked the official go live of the SAP system, heralded a new era of efficiency and accountability in the EEU’s billing and reporting capability. It is another step in the ongoing commitment of the Ethiopian government to improve the overall economics and service of the electricity supply industry. The sector has been reviewing its operations across the board to identify opportunities to improve in areas such billing and collections, private investment in generation, capacity building and tariff management.
The EEU operates in a highly complex environment and serves customers in cities across all 11 regional states. It faced challenges in delivering services efficiently while also maintaining full visibility and accountability across all its systems. SAP ERP and SAP CRM were selected by EEU to streamline processes and provide real time visibility. The new system also enables EEU to quickly identify any issues and resolve them promptly, to ensure top class customer support.
“SAP is committed to helping companies run better,” said Pedro Guerreiro, Managing Director for SAP Central Africa.
“By smartly leveraging technology, EEU is taking steps to become an intelligent enterprise, able to thrive in the digital age and able to offer its valued customers an enhanced customer experience. We look forward to our ongoing partnership to ensure EEU remains not only the pride of Ethiopia, but a role model for other organisations contributing to economic growth in Ethiopia and the continent.”
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