Eshi Express: Ethiopia’s DHL

The turbulent times of COVID-19 have highlighted the importance of many service sectors. Delivery service providers are among those sectors whose importance was significant in going through those hard times. In Ethiopia, Eshi Express has been at the forefront of local delivery services. Operating in Addis Ababa and two regional cities - Hawassa and Adama - Eshi provides an end-to-end logistical solution. Loline had a conversation with Haben Gebre, co-founder and COO, to learn about their riveting story.

Haben Gebre, COO, and Tigabu Haile, CEO, founded Eshi Express. Haben says that it was a project they were both passionate about. There was no shortage of experience either. Haben was educated in the United States in Logistics and supply chain management and has worked for e-commerce companies like Amazon in the logistics sector. Haben recalls that she chose to study logistics because of the “huge gap in the supply chain ecosystem of Ethiopia.” This gap was responsible for the high cost of transportation and goods. Haben believed as long as this supply chain issue was not resolved, the economic challenges of Ethiopia would continue to exist.