The U.S. Foreign Commercial Service (CS) Department of Commerce Ethiopia opened its doors at the U.S. Embassy Addis Ababa in 2014.  As the leading U.S. government trade agency, we provide assistance to U.S. companies wishing to export to Ethiopia by helping them navigate the local government tender process, facilitating market access and transparency, and identifying key investment projects that can benefit from U.S. products and technology.

There are unlimited trade and investment opportunities for U.S. companies interested in the priority sectors: renewable energy, aviation, healthcare, hospitality and tourism, roads and railways, textile, and agricultural business. Although the banking and IT sectors are closed to foreign companies, there are many opportunities for joint ventures and downstream services in these sectors. This is where U.S. companies can make their greatest impact: providing value for money, quality, and reliable services.

Some of our most successful companies are SMEs that use our International Company Profile for due diligence on potential partners, Single Company Promotion for branding their company in the market, and our signature Gold Key Service to find local partners, clients, and agents, and obtain appointments with key decision-makers. Please explore our website: www.export.gov/Ethiopia to find out how to make business connections, receive counseling on the market and sector of interest, launch your export products, find good local partners, and participate on key priority sector trade missions.

We also have great opportunities for Ethiopians to join a delegation to our International Buyer Program trade shows. Ethiopian companies interested in participating in trade delegations to these shows please contact us at  Office.Ethiopia@trade.gov.

Commercial Diplomacy 

Overcome trade obstacles to successfully enter the Ethiopian market.

• Benefit from coordinated U.S. government engagement with the Ethiopian government to protect U.S. business interests.
• Access U.S. government trade advocacy for your Ethiopian government procurement tenders.

The Foreign Commercial Service serves as the lead international trade and investment promotion agency facilitating advocacy to advance U.S. business interests in international markets. We actively work with other U.S. government agencies on trade and investment-related issues, including, the U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development, Center for Disease Control, Export-Import Bank, DFC, and SBA. We also serve on inter-agency initiatives such as Prosper Africa and Power Africa working groups. www.export.gov/Ethiopia

Commercial Opportunities 

Market Opportunities

• Ethiopia is endowed with abundant agricultural resources and has diverse ecological zones providing opportunities for agricultural production and agro-processing engagement. Under the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), the Agricultural Investment Land Administration Agency handles the management of the overall agricultural investment, land administration, and transferring process.
• The GOE is investing in mega social and economic infrastructure projects including power generation projects, industrial zones and parks, housing construction, water system and irrigation projects, roads and railways, airports and dry ports, telecommunication infrastructure, and sugar and fertilizer factories. There are many attractive business opportunities for U.S. companies to participate in government tenders for megaprojects. Tender proposals accompanied by financing options are highly welcomed by the government when engaging in a bid for megaprojects, and those bidders are encouraged to include 100% financing options to ensure a competitive advantage.
• Energy is one of the most significant sectors for Ethiopia’s economic growth and development.  Ethiopia possesses a bounty of renewable energy potential, especially hydroelectric, and seeks to exploit these resources by increasing the installed capacity of renewable energy sources from around 2,100mw to over 25,000mw.  Wind, geothermal, and solar power are major areas for investment opportunities. Power Africa USAID has technical advisors actively working to improve the tender procurement process for power projects and facilitating capacity building to fast-track the initiation and implementation of power projects. USTDA is also actively working to spearhead clean technology in Africa.
• The GOE seeks to attract investors through incentives for priority export sectors – textiles/garments, leather, horticulture/floriculture, and agro-processing, creating opportunities for U.S. companies to supply equipment to these sectors.