Addis Ababa gets a needed navigation app on Android

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – There is a new local free mobile application for smartphone users to navigate in the capital better named Adrasha.io. The user friendly application is intended to be the first web and mobile based application in Ethiopia providing an in-depth turn by turn direction for those looking for detailed information on hotels, restaurants, businesses and residences.

The application utilizes the new blue signs the city administration has placed around the city. The Adrasha developers collected house and building address numbers and street names and built a database of over 60,000 location geo-tagged businesses, residences and public service areas in several woredas throughout Addis Ababa.

Its purpose is to serve areas not normally covered by larger service providers like Google and Mapquest. It aims to serve mainly tourists that are coming from abroad and often find limitation on how to fully experience Ethiopia and the diplomatic core. It also plans to serve the private sector where the application can be utilized by Meter Taxi Services, Delivery Companies (companies like Delivery Addis and others), Logistic Companies (DHL and other small companies) and emergency services (firefighters).

“What we have done is geo-tagged locations and put those locations in a database which can be searched by categories, building names, business names or individual residential address. The application provides a solution for the ability for anyone to find any location in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.” Nolawi Tadesse, the communication director of the app, said. “It uses route optimization and provides realistic travel times and estimated time of arrival (ETAs) to destinations”.

He also added that “Adrasha’s navigation system increases the efficiency of road traffic Control, optimizes the operation of transport and freight vehicles, and eases accessibility for tourists and visitors”. It has its headquarters in the United States and its local partner is AZ Associates.

Adrasha.io has officially launched its bilingual (Amharic and English) app for Android on Google Play marketplace. The Adrasha app is available for and compatible with all mobile devices running Android 4.1 and higher. It will be available on the App Store for iOS in the next two months, according to the developers.

Source: The Reporter