E-Commerce May Never Be the Same Again

May 24 , 2025. By YITBAREK GETACHEW ( FORTUNE STAFF WRITER )

Zemen Gebeya is transforming the e-commerce ecosystem, creating ripples that reach far beyond the virtual marketplace. Ethio telecom's new platform, launched two weeks ago, is already engaging over 2.4 million unique visitors, setting a new precedent in a country where online retail is still gaining traction. The digital bazaar has drawn in around 80 merchants, offering products from sheep to smartphones, and ushering local delivery firms into a bustling new era, reports Yitbarek Getachew, Fortune Staff Writer.

Zemen Gebeya, the digital marketplace that Ethio telecom switched on only two weeks ago, is already reshaping the fragile e-commerce scene. In a country where online retail remains a novelty, the platform’s arrival has raised a mix of apprehension and cautious optimism among smaller delivery companies that suddenly find themselves riding a wave of new orders, while bracing for a corporate giant that could one day eclipse them.

Few felt the jolt more quickly than Bereket Tadesse, founder of Asbeza, a grocery-delivery start-up that has operated for three years on a lean budget and a skeletal fleet. When news of Zemen Gebeya first broke, he saw an existential threat. A deep-pocketed state-owned carrier with nationwide reach and a recognised brand comes to his territory. However, traffic metrics told a different story. Asbeza’s daily deliveries jumped from roughly 80 to 100 to over 250 almost overnight.

“It's a big opportunity for e-commerce,” Bereket told Fortune. “The question is how capable start-ups like Asbeza are.”

The paradox has become a running theme. Zemen Gebeya draws shoppers inside the Telebirr SuperApp, already installed on about eight million phones, and lets them browse products ranging from sheep to smartphones. Within days, the market clocked roughly 2.4 million unique visitors and signed up around 80 merchants. Ethio telecom pitches the venture as an inclusive bazaar that will boost trust in online trade, which is still hobbled by patchy logistics, low digital literacy, and chronic payment friction.

“It's a digital marketplace,” said Mesay Wubshet, the carrier’s chief communications officer, noting that designers borrowed “international experiences like China.”

Chinese platforms process nearly half of global e-commerce transactions, a benchmark Ethio telecom executives often cite when discussing their ambitions. Logistics and credibility, they argue, are the twin pillars on which any successful marketplace should stand.

“We're building a system where the community, the businessman, and the manufacturer can save time and money and connect in one place,” said Solomon Abera, chief customer-experience and quality officer. “We can build trust through delivery; we already have a brand.”

Trust, or its lack, is the biggest obstacle most operators mention. Tamrat Zewde, a former tour guide who three years ago started AradaMart near 4 Kilo’s Birhan & Selam Printing Press, keeps warehouse shelves stocked with gadgets and household items but spends as much energy convincing first-time buyers that their orders will arrive.

“Trust is key," he told Fortune. "Ethio telecom can encourage this, not only for its customers but also for us.”

He sees Zemen Gebeya as both lifeline and threat, able to normalise online shopping yet powerful enough to dislodge smaller rivals.

“Start-ups need ongoing support, not just at launch,” he said, worried that aggressive promotions could eventually force him off the map. “If it comes to that, it really affects us.”

Those promotions keep Yoseph Hailu awake at night. He is the marketing manager at Zmall, a four-year-old service that delivers restaurant orders and supermarket staples through scooter fleets. The service promises “10 categories of business” and juggles three separate apps: one for shoppers, one for merchants, and one for couriers.

“Discounts are key to attracting and retaining customers,” he said. “If ethio telecom adopts this strategy, users will shift to Zemen Gebeya, impacting businesses like ours.”

Still, Yoseph conceded that the big platform “raises awareness and trust” in ways smaller firms cannot. His apps already integrate Telebirr for payments, a link that “boosts our customer trust.” Should Zemen Gebeya carve new niches, he added, “If they offer special services, we’ll refine ours.”

Ethio telecom insists it wants collaboration, not conquest. Executives say Zemen Gebeya will roll out in three phases; the first, now live, handles only a slice of the intended inventory, and later phases could double the catalogue. Solomon declined to cite specific targets but stated the company’s self-imposed limits:

“Telecom is a digital solution facilitator, not all about business,” he said. “We only sell our product; other products are left for their merchants.”

The carrier is also recruiting outside couriers, despite fielding a private fleet of more than 3,000 vehicles.

“Anyone can participate if they are trustworthy and meet all the requirements,” Solomon said. “The main goal is to create job opportunities.”

For some founders, that door might not open wide enough. Bereket fears Ethio telecom’s marketing power and ability to bundle data packages with coupons, for example, could drown out nascent brands, raising investor perception that smaller players cannot scale.

“They've promotion, capital, and transport,” he said. “If they enter delivery, where do we stand?”

Incentives that look harmless today could, he warned, “push us out entirely.”

Entrepreneurs in other corners of the digital economy sound similar notes. Dagmawit Abebe, who runs Kedemt Coffee and promotes women-owned and SME-led ventures, has joined Zemen Gebeya. She argues that e-commerce should evolve into a federation of specialised sites rather than a single megamall.

“This is also a moment to rethink how we build platforms," she told Fortune. "No one platform can serve every product or every consumer."

Dagmawit hopes to see coexistence with unique value propositions. She believes each sector — coffee, fashion, beauty, electronics — can thrive on specialised platforms with distinct pricing models, loyalty systems, and delivery mechanisms. Years of missed opportunities, delayed payments, and inefficient supply chains, she said, make today’s shift urgent.

"For once, we’re proactively embracing change,” said Dagmawit.

Conversations with industry analysts keep surfacing a checklist of past failures. Many start-ups rush to code an app without first mapping supply chains.

According to Nebiyu Taye, a digital marketing and e-commerce trainer at Malefia Training Institute and founder of Click Digital Solutions, Ethiopia hosts perhaps 80 to 100 active e-commerce platforms, most tiny and heavily tilted toward food delivery or car sales.

“E-commerce is not solely about the website," he said. "It’s about the logistics. Understanding the business model from which you will generate profit is essential.”

Stock mismatches where items are displayed online but are out of reach in warehouses “undermine credibility.”

Nebiyu calls Zemen Gebeya a template worth studying for its design, payment integration and brand heft. Ethio telecom’s advertising blanketed billboards and airwaves long before the marketplace launch, a luxury no new entrant can match.

“We can see Ethio telecom’s promotions everywhere, all the time,” he said.

That dominance could warp competition unless regulators step in. Still, Nebiyu saluted one practical feature. For him, the best feature of Zemen Gebeya is the ability to compare product prices directly on the client’s phone device.

Hello Mart, another veteran run by Berkash Technologies, dates back to 2019 and pairs its storefront with Hello Cash, a mobile-money service. Its director, Jemal Yimer, sources from more than 1,700 suppliers and counts roughly 1,000 active monthly shoppers. He sees Zemen Gebeya as a prospective partner for “they've huge marketing, customers, and trust advantage,” which could lift sector visibility. However, he cautioned that a full-scale push might still “expose weaknesses” among incumbents, and reignite debates over “level playing field” rules.

Ethio telecom’s public pitch to capitalists on safeguards. Merchants should hold valid licenses and certificates; vendors without a retail permit, even domestic manufacturers, cannot register. Payment flows remain under escrow until buyers confirm receipt. The company is discussing terms with about 40 independent logistics outfits and says future courier fees are still under review. Solomon calls Zemen Gebeya “a mobile mall for all,” while acknowledging “a fee in the future."

"Everyone will pay for what they use,” he told Fortune.

The rollout’s phased approach keeps many details hazy, however. Zemen Gebeya’s bones include a back-end dashboard that lets merchants upload catalogues, set discounts, manage returns, and track inventory, which are tools long absent from the market. Ethio telecom frames the project as an investment in digital public infrastructure; executives declined to say how much it cost but insist all funding came from the company's coffers.

“We aim for more affordability for customers and product suppliers,” Solomon said. “It is a platform for all; we expand the service across the country.”

That national reach is what worries delivery riders threading Addis Abeba’s traffic. If Ethio telecom’s own trucks and vans assume most last-mile duties, freelance couriers could lose jobs. Tamrat believes the platform should “leave the delivery work to others under its umbrella,” giving independents steady contracts rather than direct competition.

“Order-to-delivery is essential,” he said.

Tamrat wants shared technology standards so multiple firms can use a common routing engine and maintain predictable service times.

Solomon contemplates a future independent delivery platform under the Tele brand that would set uniform rules and let vetted players operate. Ethio telecom, he said, recently briefed 40 logistics providers eager to “operate under the Tele brand and rules.” One promise: job creation at scale.

“There are services we offer, and there will be multiple vendors,” he said, signalling that even the state postal operator, Ethio Post, has been “invited” to join.

Regulatory clarity could determine whether such cooperation flourishes. The competition authority has yet to rule on whether a state-owned telecom operator can dominate both payments and delivery without throttling rivals.

PUBLISHED ON May 24,2025 [ VOL 26 , NO 1308]