The former restaurant owner started a ride-hailing business in his native country to provide users with a safe and convenient transportation service. Thanks to the solution, he was recently selected for a Google program that will allow him to reach new horizons. 

Habtamu Tadesse (photo) is an Ethiopian tech entrepreneur who founded  Zaytech, a startup behind the ride-hailing solution ZayRide, in 2016.  With his ride-hailing solution, available as a mobile app -for Android and iOS devices, he connects users to taxi drivers. Apart from the mobile app, the solution is also accessible through a call center, that allows users to request delivery or ambulance dispatch services.  

With ZayRide, Habtamu Tadesse is contributing his experience to solve a crucial insecurity challenge. Indeed, the tech entrepreneur, who was once an Uber driver in the U.S., is well aware of how insecure it could be waiting for public transport services in his native country. So, he decided to adapt his Uber experience to local realities.

“We are trying to address the existing unsafe, expensive, and inconvenient means of transportation by rolling out an innovative taxi-hailing application designed to work on Africa’s slow Internet,” he told Tech In Africa in 2018. 

Less than two years after inception, Zayride already had 30,000 users, earning ZayTech several accolades including the title of the startup with the biggest market impact potential by Traction Camp Nairobi in 2017. ZayTech has also been selected to participate in the 2022 cohort of the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund. That selection entitles it to US$50,000 to 100,000 in funding and a 6-month training program to support its development. 

Before launching ZayTech, Habtamu Tadesse was the owner of  Basha Restaurant and Bar, a Boston-based restaurant he co-founded with his brother. They sold the restaurant in 2015 to fund the mobility project ZayRide.

Melchior Koba