Ethio telecom and the Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC) are integrating industrial park production into Ethiopia’s digital payments infrastructure, enabling manufacturers to transact directly with domestic buyers through the telebirr ecosystem.

The initiative links factories operating within industrial parks to Zemen Gebeya, Ethio telecom’s digital marketplace, which has processed more than 70,000 orders since its launch in May 2025. The platform allows goods to be sold locally through unified digital payment and order processing systems, repositioning industrial park output closer to end consumers rather than through conventional wholesale or export-focused channels. Zemen Gebeya has also recorded more than 21 million visits and currently hosts over 460 active merchants.

Rather than focusing solely on product listing, the framework embeds payment settlement, order verification and inventory visibility into a single digital flow. Ethio telecom will manage the transaction infrastructure, while IPDC will coordinate factory participation and system integration within industrial parks.

Goods expected to enter the platform include textiles and garments, leather and leather products, agro-processed commodities, electronics and household appliances, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, construction inputs and other manufactured items produced to export specifications.

The arrangement also introduces demand-side data into industrial park operations. Transaction records and sales patterns generated through telebirr are expected to provide manufacturers with market intelligence to support production planning and pricing decisions in the domestic market.

IPDC oversees 11 special economic zones and two industrial parks, while Ethio telecom continues to position telebirr as a multipurpose digital commerce platform extending beyond payments into e-commerce and enterprise services.