“Imagine living alone and not being a good cook. I might have faced a problem if it wasn’t for the food delivery service we now have in the city. Thanks to that I can now order and get my food from any restaurant in Addis to wherever I am” says Tena Elias, a resident in Addis Ababa.
For Tena and other Residents in the capital the emerging food delivery services are now a blessing.
With technology providing a better way of living, the city is now being introduced to different platforms that offer food delivery services. And among those are Deliver Addis and Asbeza. Deliver Addis is mainly known for its food delivery while Asbeza is a grocery delivery platform that was introduced in 2018.
“Deliver Addis is the number one food delivery service provider company in Ethiopia which was introduced to the market in 2015” says Meron Sileshi the Marketing associate to the company
“It provides services via the website and mobile application” she adds. “With 140 partners and vendors, Deliver Addis provides various service lines ranging from food delivery to groceries, baked goods, drinks, books & flower delivery. And our partners include Chanoly Noodles, Sishu, Pizza Hut, Choma Grill, Yimana Kitfo, Castel Winery, Heineken, Habesha, BGI, Diageo, NHY, Rungo, Fresh Corner, and All Mart.”
The technology is friendly, “all I do is open the App on my phone, select restaurants near me, and order the food I want from their menu. It is as simple as that” says Tena explaining how easy it is to use the application.
According to the website, the service payment depends on how far the restaurant is from the consumer's location. Hence, for 0-3 km the service payment is 70 ETB, 3-6 km is 85 ETB and 6-9 km is 100 ETB. working with 120 restaurants in the capital, Deliver Addis will allow the customers to include up to eight selections per order.
“After the COVID-19 pandemic, we have begun including items that the larger community needs like groceries ranging from vegetables, bread, canned goods, and cleaning materials. We aim to help consumers feel more comfortable at home and minimize the need for them to go out and potentially expose themselves especially during this pandemic” says meron.
However, According to Meron, lack of Internet connectivity and Electricity outages have been a major challenge for their day to day activity.
Asbeza Delivery is also a delivery service. But unlike Deliver Addis this one is designed for an Online Grocery Shopping through a mobile application. It includes fruits, vegetables, and other necessary groceries.
“Five years ago when my wife had our first child, the grocery shopping responsibility was passed on to me. As a husband, every time I come home I keep forgetting to bring a list of the grocery items needed. As times went by I was running out of excuses, it was getting out of my control. That was when I came up with the idea of starting Asbeza. To my surprise, I came to find out that there is no other grocery delivery providing services in addis Ababa” said Bereket Tadesse who is the founder of Asbeza Delivery.
The service has been operating for almost a year and a half on the website and mobile Application, according to bereket, and the application has been downloaded 4,500+ times on android and 2,344 times on iOS. The company was able to serve more than 1500 consumers.
“Our aim is to create a standard grocery delivery platform in Addis Ababa” Bereket adds
“During this Pandemic, around 80% of the majority of consumers were expats (Foreigners). And Diasporas leaving abroad use this platform to order for their family that lives here in Addis Ababa also. Currently, all-Mart and Fresh Corner supermarkets are working together with us to deliver the items as partners” says Berket Tadesse.
There are some challenges this business faces, Bereket says “Expats expect the grocery items to be in an international standard hence we have faced some issues in meeting their demand. That has been our biggest challenge. On the other hand, we struggle with the local residents because of continuous order cancelation at the last minute.”
Currently, the city has approximately 5 delivery platforms each of them having a focus area on different items ranging from Food, Drinks, Grocery, baked goods, flowers, and book delivery. Addis Ababa is moving one step ahead in the innovative digital delivery service platforms, creating a path to a whole new sector.
