Bringing Ethiopia and Africa to the forefront.
SmartLink Transit is built in Addis Ababa by Orient Technologies PLC. We began with eighteen months of fieldwork: riding the routes, interviewing commuters and drivers, and mapping the city.
Our mission
Why does getting across Addis Ababa still involve so much guessing?
That question started SmartLink. Our answer is to connect passengers, vehicles and operators through shared, live data, beginning with the city we know best.
200 +
daily commuters interviewed during our research
9,027
places mapped in Amharic and English
10
sub-cities covered across Addis Ababa
Our story.
From the first commuter interviews to a city-wide launch in under two years.
-
Jan 2025
Research begins
Eighteen months of fieldwork, including interviews with more than 200 daily commuters and 50 minibus drivers.
-
May 2025
Company founded
Orient Technologies PLC is incorporated to build SmartLink in Ethiopia.
-
Aug 2025
The city, mapped
9,027 places recorded across all 10 sub-cities, each named in Amharic and English.
-
May 2026
Platform ready
The backend, journey planner and live data pipeline come together.
-
Sep 2026
Launch in Addis Ababa
The rider app, driver app and operator console go live together.
Our data.
Every place in the dataset has its name in Amharic and English, exact coordinates, a category and its sub-city.
Collecting it took eighteen months of fieldwork across all 10 sub-cities.
9,027 places, by category.
- Transit terminals 38% ≈ 3,430 places
- Banks and ATMs 15% ≈ 1,354 places
- Hospitals and clinics 12% ≈ 1,083 places
- Hotels and lodges 9% ≈ 812 places
- Schools and universities 8% ≈ 722 places
- Fuel stations 7% ≈ 632 places
- Pharmacies 6% ≈ 542 places
- Other services 5% ≈ 451 places
Made in Addis Ababa.
Partner with us.
We don’t have official partners yet, and we’d welcome them.
If your organisation wants better transport in Addis Ababa, or better transport data, we’d like to hear from you.
- 01
Transport authorities
Pilot the operator console on part of your network and see the city’s transport in real time.
- 02
Fleet operators
Bring your buses, minibuses or cars onto SmartLink and match them to demand.
- 03
Universities and researchers
Work with us on mobility data, Amharic language tools and field research.
- 04
Investors and organisations
Help us take SmartLink to more Ethiopian and African cities.
Why it matters.
Good transport information changes more than a commute.
These are the effects we’re working toward, in Addis Ababa first.
- 01
Mobility for everyone
Travel information that used to help only car owners, now on every rider’s phone.
- 02
Better incomes
Demand data that helps informal transport workers earn more from every shift.
- 03
An address layer
A digital address for every location, which healthcare, delivery and emergency services all depend on.
- 04
Evidence for the city
Live data for transport authorities deciding where to invest.
- 05
Built in Africa
A model for any African city without formal addresses or transit data.
- 06
Growing talent
Every system we build trains the next generation of Ethiopian engineers.