Ethiopia's public procurement market is valued at approximately $8 billion annually and growing rapidly alongside Africa's second most populous economy. This guide covers the PPA Agency processes, Federal Procurement Proclamation compliance, and strategies for winning tenders across infrastructure, telecom, manufacturing, and agriculture sectors.
By TenderRadar Team
The official website of the Public Procurement and Property Administration Agency. Publishes procurement policy, directives, guidelines, and some federal tender notices. Serves as the regulatory information hub for Ethiopian public procurement.
Visit portalThe government's emerging electronic procurement platform for publishing tender notices from federal procuring entities. Coverage is expanding as more agencies adopt electronic publication alongside traditional newspaper advertisements.
Visit portalEthiopian procurement law requires tender publication in national newspapers. Major publications including Addis Zemen (Amharic), The Ethiopian Herald (English), and the Capital newspaper regularly carry government tender advertisements. Newspaper publication remains the most comprehensive source for Ethiopian tenders.
Visit portalMajor development partners including the World Bank (STEP portal), African Development Bank, and EU maintain their own procurement portals for Ethiopia-specific projects. Given the large volume of donor-funded procurement in Ethiopia, these portals are essential sources for international contractors.
Visit portalEthiopia's infrastructure programme is among the most ambitious in Africa. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), industrial park construction, road expansion programmes, railway development (including the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway), and urban infrastructure create enormous procurement volumes. The Ethiopian Roads Authority, Ethiopian Electric Power, and Ethiopian Railways Corporation are major procuring entities with multi-billion dollar project portfolios.
The historic opening of Ethiopia's telecom sector — previously a monopoly under Ethio Telecom — has created massive procurement in network infrastructure, mobile technology, digital payment systems, and IT services. Safaricom Ethiopia's market entry and Ethio Telecom's modernization drive procurement for base stations, fiber optic networks, data centres, and digital platforms. The Digital Ethiopia 2025 strategy adds government IT procurement.
Ethiopia's industrialization strategy, centered on integrated industrial parks, generates procurement for park infrastructure, factory construction, machinery, utilities, and logistics systems. Parks like Hawassa, Bole Lemi, and Kilinto host major manufacturing operations. The Ethiopian Investment Commission and Industrial Parks Development Corporation manage related procurement, spanning construction, utilities, and management services.
Agriculture remains Ethiopia's economic backbone, employing over 70% of the population. Government procurement spans agricultural inputs (seeds, fertilizers, agrochemicals), irrigation infrastructure, food storage and processing facilities, agricultural research equipment, and extension service support. The Agricultural Transformation Institute and Ministry of Agriculture manage large procurement budgets, supplemented by significant donor funding from USAID, EU, and World Bank programmes.
Ethiopia's healthcare sector expansion drives procurement for hospital construction, medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, and health IT systems. The Ministry of Health and Ethiopian Pharmaceuticals Supply Service (EPSS) centrally procure medicines and medical supplies. Major programmes in maternal health, disease prevention, and health facility expansion create consistent procurement demand. The country's ambition to become a pharmaceutical manufacturing hub adds industrial procurement opportunities.
Ethiopia uses the Ge'ez calendar with 13 months (12 months of 30 days plus a 13th month of 5-6 days). It runs approximately 7-8 years behind the Gregorian calendar. The fiscal year runs from Hamle 1 to Sene 30 (approximately July 8 to July 7 Gregorian). All government documents, tender deadlines, and official correspondence use the Ethiopian calendar. International suppliers must carefully convert dates to avoid missing deadlines. Many government offices and banks are closed during Ethiopian holidays, which differ from Western holidays. Budget releases and procurement planning follow the Ethiopian fiscal year.
Development partners are major funders of Ethiopian procurement. The World Bank, African Development Bank, EU, USAID, DFID/FCDO, and numerous bilateral donors fund a large share of infrastructure, health, education, and agricultural projects. Donor-funded procurement often uses the funder's own procurement rules rather than Ethiopian national procedures, requiring suppliers to register on respective platforms (e.g., World Bank STEP). These projects tend to be larger, more transparent, and more accessible to international firms than purely government-funded procurement.
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Yes, foreign companies can participate, particularly in International Competitive Bidding for high-value contracts. However, domestic preference margins of 5-15% typically apply, favoring Ethiopian-owned firms. Foreign companies must register with the Ethiopian Investment Commission, obtain a business license, and comply with tax requirements. Joint ventures with Ethiopian firms are common and often necessary for construction projects. The telecom sector liberalization has created new entry points for international technology companies, while industrial park development welcomes foreign manufacturers.
Key challenges include: the unique calendar system requiring careful date management, Amharic as the primary working language for many procuring entities (though major tenders include English), foreign exchange constraints that can affect payments for imported goods, evolving regulatory framework with periodic proclamation updates, infrastructure logistics in a large landlocked country, and varying capacity levels across different procuring entities. Building local partnerships and maintaining patience through bureaucratic processes are essential success factors.
Ethiopia is progressively developing its electronic procurement capabilities. The PPA has launched an online procurement portal, and major procuring entities are increasingly publishing tenders electronically alongside mandatory newspaper advertisements. However, e-procurement adoption is less advanced than in some neighboring countries like Kenya or Rwanda. The government's Digital Ethiopia strategy includes procurement digitization as a priority. Currently, a hybrid approach is recommended — monitor both online portals and newspapers, and be prepared for both electronic and physical bid submission depending on the procuring entity.