Tenders in Ethiopia: How to Find Government Contracts

Ethiopia runs one of the largest federal procurement systems in Africa. A new proclamation and a new directive changed the legal framework in 2024 and 2025, while the national e-GP portal expands the share of tenders published online. This guide explains the current rules, the electronic platform, the buyers that actually publish contracts, the sectors with the most notices, and how to track them effectively.

The rules: Proclamation 1333/2024

Ethiopian federal procurement is governed by Proclamation No. 1333/2024, enacted on 9 September 2024 and published in the Federal Negarit Gazette, which repealed Proclamation No. 649/2009 (https://justice.gov.et/en/law/the-federal-public-procurement-and-property-administration-proclamation/, consulted on 2026-10-18). Article 2(9) of the proclamation defines "Public Body" to include "Federal Government Public owned enterprises," bringing enterprises established under Proclamation No. 1314/2024 or other establishing law within the federal procurement framework (https://www.ppa.gov.et/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Procurement-and-property-proclamation-2024-.pdf, consulted on 2026-10-18). The implementing rules appear in Directive No. 1073/2025, issued in May 2025 (https://www.ppa.gov.et/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Directive_No_1073_2025_Federal_Government_Public_Procurement_Directive.pdf, consulted on 2026-10-18). The directive sets out preferences for locally manufactured goods (Article 27) and for Ethiopian service providers, consultants and contractors (Article 28). It also contains provisions on sustainable procurement covering life-cycle cost analysis (Article 44), environmentally sustainable procurement (Article 45) and socially responsible procurement (Article 46) (same source). The Public Procurement and Property Authority (PPA) oversees the system and operates the national electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) portal.

e-GP: the platform, and why you should register now

The federal electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) portal is accessible at egp.gov.et and managed by the PPA. The system was piloted in 2021 with nine public agencies, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce (https://www.trade.gov/market-intelligence/ethiopia-e-procurement-platform-provides-easy-access-public-tenders, consulted on 2026-10-18). In 2023 the platform expanded to 74 federal agencies with procurement activity in agriculture, technology, health and education (same source). As of April 2023, nearly 8,000 domestic and international suppliers were registered on the portal, and the PPA expected approximately $9 billion in public procurements to flow through the system during the 2023 budget year (same source). The U.S. Department of Commerce also notes that the PPA plans to expand coverage across federal, state and local levels, targeting up to 80% of government procurements within five years (same source). The PPA publishes regular training schedules for suppliers on its website (https://www.ppa.gov.et/, consulted on 2026-10-18). A supplier needs to register and obtain valid credentials to access procurement plans and submit bids through the platform.

Who actually buys in Ethiopia

Federal ministries, universities and regional bureaus all publish procurement notices. Each category uses its own channel, so a complete monitoring strategy must cover multiple sources. Regional authorities such as the Oromia Roads and Logistics Bureau issue tender invitations for road and bridge works (https://www.ethiopiatenders.com/tender/the-oromia-roads-and-logistics-bureau-now-invites-sealed-bids-eligible-bidders-construction-bridge-p-5fb62bd.php, consulted on 2026-10-18). Because Ethiopia is a federal state, these regional bodies operate alongside federal agencies. The African Union Commission, headquartered in Addis Ababa, maintains its own procurement portal and publishes consulting, IT and laboratory tenders independently of the Ethiopian e-GP system (https://au.int/en/bids, consulted on 2026-10-18). UN agencies based in Addis Ababa also run their own procurement processes. A supplier who monitors only the federal e-GP portal misses these institutional and regional streams.

The most active sectors

The 74 federal agencies using e-GP in 2023 covered agriculture, technology, health and education (same trade.gov source). Universities publish notices for equipment, supplies and related works in the education sector. Regional bureaus issue construction tenders for roads, bridges and other infrastructure. The African Union Commission lists consulting services, IT and telecom upgrades, and laboratory supplies on its own bids page (https://au.int/en/bids, consulted on 2026-10-18). The health sector appears through hospital equipment and pharmaceutical supply notices published by federal agencies. A share of consulting and programme work is financed by institutions such as the World Bank and appears under Ethiopian contracting authorities (see our guide to World Bank tenders in Africa). Filter live Ethiopian tenders by sector and deadline on the Ethiopia country page.

A workflow that works

A practical workflow for Ethiopian procurement has five steps. First, register on the e-GP portal early and maintain an active account to access federal procurement plans and submit bids online. Second, map the universities in your sector and review their recurring procurement plans. Third, monitor regional bureaus in your target regions and track their local publication channels. Federal e-GP coverage does not replace regional procurement channels in Ethiopia's federal system. Fourth, track the African Union Commission and UN agencies separately from the federal e-GP portal. They operate outside the Ethiopian e-GP portal and publish opportunities on their own websites. Fifth, check whether a tender is financed by a multilateral institution and follow the specific bidding rules that apply. Our guide to World Bank tenders in Africa explains how those procedures work.

Monitor every Ethiopian tender in one place

The e-GP portal centralises federal procurement, yet it does not capture every opportunity available in Ethiopia. Regional bureaus maintain their own publication channels outside the federal system and manage their own schedules. The African Union Commission and UN agencies based in Addis Ababa procure on separate portals with their own schedules. Bidanga's Ethiopia page aggregates federal, regional, university and international opportunities in a single searchable feed, normalised to the Open Contracting Data Standard, updated daily and accessible through a unified interface. You can search by sector, estimated value and deadline to narrow down relevant tenders, and set up free email alerts to receive new Ethiopian tenders the day they are published on any of these channels.