In July 2018, Sophia arrived in Ethiopia without some parts assembled, and exhibited at Information & Communication Technology International Expo, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Visitors, including various dignitaries, were excited when meeting the robot as she communicated with expo guests and expressed a wide range of facial expressions. The more usual diplomatic encounters, she met with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on 2 July. The chief of staff of Prime Minister Office shared the photo online, who gained global attention for using facial and speech recognition to help engage in conversation. She was partly assembled in Ethiopia; with a client base spanned places the US, Canada, Hong Kong and China, iCog Labs was showing its tech scene. The company collaborated with the Ethiopian government on some hardware and software projects.
