In recent years, Ethiopia has embarked on a bold journey to transform its public sector through digital innovation. At the heart of this transformation is the Mesob One-Stop Service Center, a fully digitalized and integrated platform aimed at modernizing service delivery across government institutions. More than just a technological upgrade, this initiative reflects Ethiopia’s growing commitment to developing local expertise and building homegrown solutions for national challenges.
The concept of the Mesob One-Stop Service Center was born following high-level visits by the Ethiopian government to countries such as Singapore, South Africa, and Azerbaijan, according to the Center’s Director General. These nations have made significant strides in modernizing their public service systems by establishing a one-stop integrated institution, offering valuable lessons on how to streamline and digitize governance.
Azerbaijan’s Azerbaijan Service and Assessment Network (ASAN), in particular, emerged as a leading example to take as a model for Ethiopia. With a customer satisfaction rate exceeding 99%, Azerbaijan had successfully implemented a citizen-centric service delivery model through automation, institutional integration, and robust digital infrastructure which served for more than 15 years. Inspired by this success, Ethiopian authorities initiated discussions to potentially replicate a similar system locally.
However, the initial proposal presented by foreign developers came at a steep price—approximately five million USD. This cost raised concerns, especially given Ethiopia’s limited resources. Consequently, the Prime Minister’s Office made a critical strategic decision: rather than outsourcing the work, the government would empower local experts to develop the required technology and establish the center internally using the local capacity. Following this decision, a new generation of tech talent takes the responsibility to develop the necessary software, to integrate the systems and to establish the center, Mesob One-Stop Service Center Director General, Anteneh Mamo told The Ethiopian Herald in a recent interview.
In response to this directive, by collecting talented experts, a professional task force was formed from various public institutions, including the Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute (EAII), the Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MInT), the Information Network Security Agency (INSA), and the National ID Program. A team of around 16 professionals from various disciplines of the digital sector gathered in one place and started their activities in October 2024.
This dedicated team of digital tech experts worked intensively in one center for over two months and developed all the necessary software applications and properly managed to integrate the network. Through this way, the local experts from the four tech-based government institutions laid the foundation for the establishment of the first-ever digital-based integrated one-stop service center in Ethiopia, the Mesob system, which was finally inaugurated and started operation in April 2, 2025.
These experts successfully developed ten fully functioning software applications, all tailored to Ethiopia’s administrative and technological context. This bold move not only saved the country millions but also demonstrated the untapped potential of local human capital in digital technology. One of the most critical issues Mesob sought to address was the lack of integration among government institutions. Prior to Mesob, agencies operated in silos—data sharing between institutions were minimal, verification systems for fake documents was absent, and service delivery was backward.
Mesob introduced a fully integrated and digitalized ecosystem, where services and data are shared across institutions in real-time. This not only streamlined operations but also dramatically improved citizens’ satisfaction. According to early assessments, over 12,000 customers accessed services through Mesob during the pilot phase, with a satisfaction rating of over 91%—an impressive achievement for a system barely a month into operation. The encouraging early results and achievement demonstrate a strong foundation for future improvement and expansion in the sector and it became an ice-breaker in promoting local experts to establish modern institutions with own capacity.
Mesob’s success is not solely a service delivery or technological story. Mesob is equally a story of strategic human resource development in digital service delivery. Recognizing that skilled professionals as the backbone of any modern digital infrastructure, the initiative implemented a performance-based compensation and evaluation system for service providers. MESOB introduced a performance-based salary instead of a fixed monthly salary for the staff that joined the center.
The remuneration in Mesob, unlike other public service sectors, is determined by discipline and adherence to office protocol, customer handling system, devotion to service standards, and overall performance in task execution, which all the retirements are to be evaluated with an automated system, according to the Director General.
In addition to modernizing the institutional service delivery in the public service sector by digitalizing and integrated the services under one roof, the performance based system is designed to cultivate a culture of excellence among public service professionals, especially among the youth generation. Notably, the workforce driving Mesob’s implementation is predominantly under the age of 35, signaling a generational shift in public service and digital skill is among the qualifications to join the sector.
Currently, Ethiopia is providing a nation-wide digital training with the Five Million Ethio Coders Imitative, which was launched in July 2024 to train over five million Ethiopians within three years. The initiative targets providing free training for all interested citizens to equip the young generation to exploit the growing opportunities in the digital sector. And the Mesob professional requirement and digitalized service delivery system is an indication that the current generation have to develop digital skills by easily joining the Five Million Coders initiative.
Currently, more than one million Ethiopian youths are registered and taking the Five Million Coders online digital training where hundreds of thousands got their international certificate by fully completed the training.
The establishment of Mesob is introducing a lot of new developments in the public sector. The effort is to reach the fourth-stage public sector. The long-term goal is to establish a fully automated, man-to-machine system, where citizens can access government services remotely, from their homes, through smartphones or computers, without the need for physical interaction and the service provider expected to have the knowledge and skills to manage the system and deliver the services properly using the installed systems. This requires expertise knowledge and skills where the public servant is expected to develop as soon as possible to go smoothly with the digital age.
This multi-faceted use of technology underscores Ethiopia’s ambition to leapfrog traditional bureaucratic systems and become a model for digital governance in Africa. Realizing Ethiopia’s digital ambition in the public sector needs skilled digital experts in security administration, networking, software development and experts who properly use the digital infrastructure to provide services. The experts who developed the Mesob system are a demonstration how local capacity is a national pride. In addition to introducing modernization to the public service sector, the most inspiring aspect of Mesob initiative is the emphasis on local capacity building.
All software applications and digital frameworks were developed in-house, using local talent and local resources. This achievement defies the common assumption that digital transformation in Africa must rely heavily on foreign expertise. Ethiopia has proven that with vision, coordination, and trust in its people, transformational change is not only possible but can be cost-effective, context-sensitive, and sustainable. By integrating experts from various fields—network engineers from MInT, cyber security specialists from INSA, and software developers from EAII, Mesob became a living testament to the power of local experts and collaboration across institutions.
The pilot phase of Mesob has laid a solid foundation, but the journey is far from over. Going forward, the goals include: Scaling the system to include more institutions and service, Improving customer satisfaction through feedback and iterative development and continuing human resource development through training, mentorship, and knowledge sharing. If nurtured effectively, Mesob has the potential to not only revolutionize public service delivery in Ethiopia but also to serve as a model for other African nations aiming to digitize governance through local empowerment.
BY DARGIE KAHSAY
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 13 JUNE 2025
