Ethiopia's Documents Registration Agency Debuts Appointment Booking Platform

An eight-month-old company has debuted a digital booking platform developed for the Document Authentication & Registration Service (DARS) as its first product. Dubbed Qetero, eponymously named after the Company, the Platform resolves long queues and delayed service stereotypically associated with DARS. All services can now solely be accessed from DARS federal offices through Qetero.

Customers can find the nearest branch office, available set of services and get the exact time when a service will be available to them after registration. A set of services that align with the Platform’s name which translates to “an appointment” in Amharic. 

“There is no need to wait around for hours,” Hamid Kinniso , Director of DARS told Shega.

He recalled how the Company itself approached DARS offering the digital solution for free. A seven-month development process ensued after they agreed on the type of service, according to the Director. Hamid expects the practice of selling positions at queues and close the window for corruption in the services of DARS.

DARS was established under Proclamation 334/2003 to provide authentication and notary services as part of an effort to organize the services distributed among courts and public offices. The new platform gives access to DARS Federal offices located in Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa.

Khalid Jemal, founder and CEO of Qetero, says the Platform was born out of frustration. He recalls seeing hundreds of people lined up to benefit from simple services.

“We thought we could solve the problem with an easy-to-use platform,” Khalid told Shega.

The developers surveyed Federal DARS offices and calculated the average time it takes to provide each service. Qetero can automatically calculate the time and number of users public servants can take at a time and set appointments. Around 15 branches are connected to Portal currently with a VIP service and two more locations set to be unveiled in the coming weeks.

Qetero charges fifty birr paid through the mobile money app Telebirr for users that book appointments from their homes while physical registrations are free. A handful of youth are distributed across DARS offices to help customers in using the booking service.

“You can see them running around holding their tablets helping users,” Khalid told Shega.

Despite significant strides being made in the provision of e-government services over the past few years, long queues are all too common for services ranging from paying a traffic ticket to filing a tax report.