Orbit Health and Hasab AI have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to integrate localized Language AI into Ethiopia’s digital health systems. The partnership focuses on improving access to healthcare services, reducing pressure on clinicians and ensuring that language and literacy are no longer barriers to quality care.
The collaboration brings together Orbit Health’s digital health platforms and Hasab AI’s language technology. Together, they aim to build practical tools that work within Ethiopia’s healthcare environment and can later be scaled across Africa. The initiative is designed to support doctors, nurses and patients by making healthcare systems easier to use, more inclusive and more efficient.
“Proud of this step forward. At Orbit Health, our mission has always been to make healthcare work for everyone, not just those fluent in dominant languages or comfortable with complex systems. Partnering with Hasab AI allows us to bring localized, ethical Language AI into the heart of care delivery, reducing clinician burden while expanding access for millions. This is about dignity, inclusion and building technology that truly understands the communities it serves. Excited for what we will co-create together for Ethiopia and beyond.” said Pazion Cherinet Founder, Orbit Health & Orbit Innovation Hub.
Using Language AI to Improve Care Delivery
A key focus of the partnership is the integration of voice enabled technology into healthcare systems. This includes Speech to Text and Text to Speech tools that can be used in telemedicine platforms and electronic medical records. These tools allow clinicians to speak naturally during consultations while the system captures and organizes information automatically.
Multilingual support is another core area of collaboration. Ethiopia is home to many languages and healthcare systems often struggle to serve patients who are not fluent in dominant languages. By using localized Language AI, Orbit Health and Hasab AI aim to support communication between healthcare providers and patients in multiple local languages. This helps patients better understand their diagnoses and treatment plans, while allowing clinicians to collect accurate information.
The partnership also focuses on reducing workload for healthcare workers. Automating clinical documentation can significantly cut the time doctors spend on paperwork. This allows them to focus more on patient care, especially in busy or understaffed facilities. In low literacy settings, voice based and language friendly systems can also make it easier for patients to interact with healthcare services without confusion or frustration.
Beyond technology, the collaboration includes knowledge sharing and joint design of ethical and scalable solutions. Both organizations have emphasized the importance of building systems that respect patient data, cultural context and local needs.
Building on Strong Local Expertise
Orbit Health is a digital health company working to modernize health systems in Ethiopia, with a long term vision to expand across Africa. The company focuses on improving healthcare access and delivery through digital platforms designed for local realities. With a team experienced in healthcare technology and deep knowledge of the Ethiopian health system, Orbit Health has already implemented digital solutions in a wide range of healthcare settings. Its work aims to bridge gaps in care and improve patient outcomes through practical innovation.
Hasab AI, co founded by Kidus Yared, focuses on language technology for low resource languages, particularly African languages. The company’s Audio Intelligence API offers high accuracy and speed, multilingual support, speaker diarization and transcription services with optional word level timestamps. Hasab AI’s work supports both technological advancement and the preservation of linguistic diversity, ensuring that African languages are represented in modern AI systems.
Together, Orbit Health and Hasab AI are positioning this partnership as a step toward more inclusive healthcare. By combining digital health infrastructure with localized Language AI, the initiative has the potential to improve care delivery in Ethiopia and provide a model that can be adapted across the continent. The focus remains clear: practical technology, ethical design and better healthcare for more people.
