Ethiopian Airlines (Ethiopian) announced on Thursday the inauguration of its e-commerce logistics facility that has been built at a cost of $55 million.
The Airlines said the newly inaugurated e-commerce facility is “the first of its kind in Africa” for accommodating 150,000 tons of cargo annually, while mails and parcels would also be packaged.
The Ethiopian posted on X that the facility would advance Africa’s e-commerce industry and make Addis Ababa a hub of international cross border e-business.
Mesfin Tasew, Ethiopian Airlines CEO, said the facility would serve the Airlines’ markets including Africa, Europe and America.
He said the Airlines had partnered with renowned e-commerce companies around the world, including Ali Baba, emphasizing that e-commerce logistics is the future of cargo movement.
He also noted that the facility would help the Ethiopian to upgrade its conventional cargo services to e-commerce cargo movement so as to reducing errors in the system.
“E-commerce is the future; the western world is using e-commerce extensively because they are ready for it in terms of its platform, payment and daily services. Unfortunately, Africa is not yet there. So, Ethiopian Airlines understands that it is a matter of time for Africa to endorse e-commerce as a way of life, as a way of doing business, and trade,” Mesfin told the Nigerian Daily Independent.
“Our focus now is on the logistics part of e-commerce. So, it is difficult to know how much revenue to generate now, but it will start at a small level and continue to grow. Until that happens, this facility is going to be used also for mail and parcel services. Today, we do mail and parcel services on a small scale and manually, but this facility would do it automatically and with minimal mistakes,” he said.
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