How to Find Government Tenders in Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s economy has grown at an average of 8–10% annually over the past decade, making it one of the fastest-expanding economies in Sub-Saharan Africa. The federal government approved a budget of 1.92 trillion birr (~$14.6 billion) for 2025/26, a 34% increase over the prior year. Capital expenditure alone accounts for 415 billion birr, with major allocations to urban development and construction (125.2 billion birr), education (115.5 billion birr), defence (81 billion birr), agriculture (64.5 billion birr), and healthcare (60.9 billion birr).

The Homegrown Economic Reform Agenda (HGER) — now in its second phase — has driven structural changes including telecom liberalization, foreign exchange reform, and the rollout of electronic procurement systems. A July 2024 reform of the foreign exchange regime introduced market-based exchange rate determination, marking a major shift for import-dependent procurement.

Mega-projects dominate the procurement pipeline. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) — Africa’s largest hydropower project — was inaugurated in September 2025 after $5 billion in investment. The Bishoftu International Airport, a $12.5 billion project backed by Ethiopian Airlines and the AfDB, broke ground in January 2026 and will become Africa’s largest airport. These anchor projects generate thousands of downstream supply contracts in construction, equipment, logistics, and professional services.

Ethiopian federal procurement is governed by Proclamation No. 1333/2024 — the Federal Public Procurement and Property Administration Proclamation — which replaced the original Proclamation No. 649/2009 in September 2024. The new law was published in Federal Negarit Gazette No. 66 and is supplemented by implementing directives issued by the Ministry of Finance.

Key changes in Proclamation 1333/2024 include:

• Expanded scope — now covers public enterprises (SOEs), which must follow competitive procurement processes
• Sustainability criteria — public bodies must integrate environmental footprint and energy-efficiency considerations into bid evaluations
• Broader local preference — preference margins now extend to joint ventures between domestic and foreign firms, enterprises owned by women and persons with disabilities, and products from local technological innovations
• Removed value-addition threshold — the previous 35% value-addition requirement for goods to qualify as locally produced has been eliminated
• SOE procurement restrictions — state-owned enterprises cannot participate in procurement by their supervising public body without a competitive process

The PPA (Federal Public Procurement and Property Authority, known in Amharic as የመንግስት ግዝና ንብረት ባለስልጣን) is the regulatory body overseeing procurement compliance. Six procurement methods are recognized: open bidding (the default, used for ~95% of procurement), request for proposals, two-stage tendering, restricted tendering, request for quotation, and direct procurement.

Ethiopia’s primary procurement platform is the electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) portal at egp.gov.et, operated by the PPA. Initially piloted in 2021 with nine agencies, the system expanded to 74 federal agencies by 2023, including those making major purchases in agriculture, technology, health, and education. Over 19,000 suppliers are registered, with 150+ active tenders available at any time. The PPA’s target is to channel 80% of all government procurement through the e-GP system within five years.

Beyond the e-GP portal, Ethiopian tenders are advertised in national newspapers. Addis Zemen (አዲስ ዘመን) — the Amharic-language government newspaper — and the Ethiopian Herald (English) remain mandatory advertisement channels for many procuring entities. Regional states operate their own procurement processes, often published only in local newspapers or regional government websites.

For international development-funded projects, African procurement portals and donor-specific systems apply. World Bank IDA-funded Ethiopian projects appear on the World Bank procurement portal. AfDB-funded projects are published on the AfDB procurement system. JICA, EU, and USAID projects follow their respective donor procurement guidelines. Jorpex aggregates all major sources — including donor-funded Ethiopian tenders — into a single monitored feed.

Ethiopian procurement law mandates open bidding as the default method for all public procurement above minimum thresholds. The specific thresholds are set by directive and vary by procurement category:

• Open bidding — required for all contracts above the directive threshold; constitutes approximately 95% of all federal procurement
• Request for quotation — permitted for low-value purchases of goods and services below the open bidding threshold, typically requiring a minimum of three written quotations
• Restricted tendering — allowed when goods or services are available from a limited number of suppliers, subject to PPA approval
• Direct procurement — permitted only in exceptional circumstances (sole source, extreme urgency, national security), requiring prior authorization from the PPA or, for high-value contracts, the Council of Ministers
• VAT registration — mandatory for suppliers when contract value exceeds 100,000 birr (~$760)

All procuring entities must publish tender notices for open bidding on the e-GP portal and in at least one national newspaper. Bid validity periods typically range from 60 to 120 days. Bid security (typically 2% of estimated contract value) is required for open bids. Performance bonds of 10–15% are standard for awarded contracts.

Ethiopia’s procurement pipeline spans multiple high-growth sectors driven by the government’s industrialization and infrastructure agenda:

• Infrastructure and construction — the $12.5 billion Bishoftu mega-airport, Addis Ababa–Bishoftu high-speed railway (38 km), expressway expansion, urban development programs that have created 1.15 million jobs with World Bank support
• Energy and power — GERD downstream transmission and distribution contracts, the World Bank’s $1.4 billion PRIME electrification program, renewable energy (solar, wind, geothermal) under Ethiopia’s abundant resource base
• Telecommunications — Safaricom Ethiopia’s $1.6 billion network rollout (10 million subscribers and growing), Ethio Telecom’s 83-million-subscriber infrastructure upgrades, a potential third operator license, and the Digital Ethiopia 2025/2030 strategy
• Industrial parks — IPDC (Industrial Parks Development Corporation) manages 11 special economic zones and 3 industrial parks including Hawassa (Africa’s largest textile park) and Bole Lemi, with $780 million in Sheba bond financing and $250 million in World Bank funding
• Agriculture and food security — 64.5 billion birr budget allocation, irrigation modernization, cold chain logistics, and agricultural mechanization programs
• Healthcare — 60.9 billion birr allocation, hospital construction, medical equipment procurement, and pharmaceutical supply chain development
• Water and energy — 40.1 billion birr for water treatment, sanitation infrastructure, and rural electrification
• Financial sector — Ethiopian Securities Exchange launch, capital market development supported by AfDB, banking sector liberalization

Language — Amharic (አማርኛ) is the working language of the federal government. The Amharic term for procurement is ግዝ (gizh), and public tenders are called ግልጽ ጨረታ (gilits chereta, meaning open bid/tender). However, English is widely used for international tenders, donor-funded projects, and the e-GP portal interface. All World Bank and AfDB-funded tenders use English documentation.

Foreign exchange — Ethiopia’s July 2024 forex reform introduced market-based exchange rates, replacing decades of fixed-rate controls. Despite improvements, foreign currency availability can still cause payment delays. Businesses should budget for potential delays of 30–90 days in forex allocation for import-dependent contracts. Letters of credit for 100% of import value are typically required.

Market entry — Foreign companies must register with the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) through the e-Invest digital system. Minimum capital requirements are $200,000 for wholly foreign-owned companies ($100,000 for consulting/engineering) and $150,000 for joint ventures ($50,000 for consulting/engineering). Forming a joint venture with an Ethiopian partner is strongly encouraged — the new Proclamation 1333/2024 grants preference margins to domestic-foreign partnerships.

Local preference — Ethiopian procurement law provides preference margins for local suppliers and domestically produced goods. The 2024 reform expanded these margins to include joint ventures, women-owned enterprises, and disability-owned enterprises.

Payment terms — Government payment cycles can extend to 60–120 days. Factor working-capital requirements into bid pricing. Performance bonds of 10–15% of contract value are standard.

Manually checking the e-GP portal, scanning Addis Zemen newspaper listings, and monitoring AfDB and World Bank procurement pages is time-consuming — especially for teams based outside Ethiopia. Jorpex aggregates all major Ethiopian procurement sources into a single AI-matched feed, including donor-funded project tenders that often bypass the national e-GP system entirely.

Configure keyword filters for your services (construction, medical equipment, IT, consulting), set geographic filters to Ethiopia and East Africa, and define contract-value ranges. Matching Ethiopian tenders arrive in Slack or email summarized in your preferred language — even when the original notice is in Amharic. At $49/month, Jorpex provides the largest African tender aggregation, covering Ethiopia alongside 50+ other procurement sources across the continent. Start a free trial and receive your first matched Ethiopian opportunities within minutes.