Ethiopian Airlines Group (ET) has partnered with MailAmericas (MA), a private postal operator and gold member of the consultive committee for the Universal Postal Union, to develop competitive cross border eCommerce services within Africa and the Middle East using Addis Ababa as a hub.

According to this partnership, Ethiopian Airlines will offer air transport service for carrying goods across its wide network while MailAmericas will provide its market expertise and the know how it gained in Latin America and Africa, where it has networks in over 40 countries.

Regarding the partnership, Ethiopian Group CEO Mesfin Tasew said, “As the leading air cargo service provider in Africa, we are glad to team up with MailAmericas in launching ecommerce logistics services across Africa and Latin America. So far, we have jointly served more than 20 countries in Africa and Latin America, and we are keen to further expand our reach going forward. The partnership enables us to serve our customers better by leveraging the expertise, bilateral agreements and private networks of MailAmericas.”

Tomas Miguens, President of MailAmericas stated, “As one of the largest service providers of Cross Border E Commerce into Latin America, we are thrilled to partner up with Ethiopian Airlines Group and expand our horizon into Africa’s territory. We have an extensive knowledge in the region through our subsidiary Mailafrica which has provided services over 25 years. It’s our pleasure to be able to work side by side with the leading airline in Africa. This will grant every customer a better shopping experience, improving delivery time and traceability of their packages. We will continuously look to strengthen this partnership and develop new businesses to maintain a mutually beneficial relationship with Ethiopian Airlines Group.”

As part of the partnership, Ethiopian Airlines will gain access to all bilateral agreements and private networks of MailAmericas across the regions, enabling it to offer competitive services to customers in Africa, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, and other parts of the world.

Ethiopian is building an ecommerce hub in Addis Ababa with a total annual capacity of 150,000 tons per annum to boost its ecommerce logistics service and capacity. Fully dedicated for e-commerce logistics operations, the e-commerce hub will also be equipped with an Automated Sortation System and Electronic Transport Vehicles (ETV) to ensure the smooth handling of shipments ranging from small parcels to boxes, skids, and built-up units (BUPs).