The rugged landscape of Ethiopia is criss-crossed by a total of 26,053 kilometres of rural roads, of which less than 4,000 kilometres are paved. And a single railway line that connects Addis Ababa to Djibouti. The scarcity of (weather-prone) transport links are a great hindrance to domestic trade. In the rainy season many of the barely asphalt-surfaced roads are impassable. The population is often cut off from the markets and medical facilities for weeks at a time.