Addis Ababa Embarking on Smart City Transformation

Addis Ababa December 11/2024 (ENA)—Addis Ababa city has been accelerating smart city efforts encompassing expansion of technology and infrastructure, the city administration revealed.

The Innovation and Technology Development Office Head of Addis Ababa city administration, Solomon Amare emphasized the critical role of fast network speeds in delivering digital services.

To this end, the city administration is collaborating with Ethio Telecom to deliver high-speed network services, given the capital’s importance as a seat of the African Union and the host of numerous international organizations.

Currently, there is a national push for 'smart cities' amongst the leadership to incorporate into the country’s urbanization strategies, particularly Addis Ababa city administration is working hard to become a smart city hub in Africa.

​​​​The head noted that a key aspect of this transformation is improving the efficiency and digitalization of service delivery among city institutions.

The initiative will be implemented across 58 institutions and 120 districts within the city's 11 sub-cities, with a total investment exceeding 280 million Birr, Solomon said.

The “City Net” technology aims to modernize systems for tax collection, vital event registration, and complaint submission, significantly improving the city's service delivery capabilities.

"This collaboration has led to the creation of 'City Net,' which connects all government institutions within the city through a unified network infrastructure," Amare stated.

He added that this initiative represents a significant advancement, enabling effective sharing of data and resources among institutions.

According to him, the ongoing efforts to digitize procedures encourage institutions to render digital services by transitioning from manual to electronic and online services.

For instance, the Investment Office has already implemented such changes, allowing citizens to apply for permits and renewals from home, he said.