How to Set Up an Office in Ethiopia for a Small or Medium Business

This article is a general guideline on how to set up an office in Ethiopia (particularly in Addis Ababa). Regulations on Licensing/Registration/Investment permit etc are found separately on our Starting A Business and Investment pages.

Office Building

There are numerous new buildings coming up in Addis Ababa. You can rent offices on these buildings. The buildings can be found in almost all areas and you can choose as per your need, location of your clients, etc. Villas that can be turned to offices are available as well. The rent lease has to be authenticated by the Documents Authentication and Registration Office.

What you have to check when renting offices on buildings or Villas

  • Is deposit required? How many months advance rent have to be paid?
  • Is regular Generator service available in case of power outage? (This is important!!)
  • Are there sufficient phone lines in the building? This is very crucial for your work.
  • Are there sufficient parking spaces?

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Furnishing Your Office

You can buy imported or locally made furniture. Almost all the main furniture sellers will agree to deliver the material to your office. The main office furniture sellers are found on Bole Road, at Hayuhlet Area and at Piazza. Technostyle (located in Bambis area, near Enat Bank building); Waryt (located on Waryt Building on Haile Gebreselassie Avenue); 3F (in Piazza, Before Bambis on Dil Building); Deluxe Furniture (Located at Olympia and also on the back of Bole Road and in CMC Micahel); GM Furniture (located on Kerra - Sarbet road, on the road from Olympia to Bambis and in Alem Gena) are the biggest that provide quality material; Technostyle is known for their quality yet cheap priced office furniture.

But it's good to take a tour of Bole Road, Ethio China Friendship Road, Debrezeyit Road, Hayahulet area, Urael Area and Piazza to check every possibility. You may also check our business directory.

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Communication

Fixed Phone Lines

The best thing is to have a fixed land line. You can apply to the local Ethio Telecom sales office and it takes 1-2 weeks to get the lines depending on availability, etc. You can have the phone numbers with you when you move your office provided your new office is located in the same sub city/region.

For more you can visit Ethio Telecom's website.

Mobile Phones

You can buy prepaid SIM cards from Ethio Telecom sales offices. But when you buy credit to charge your account, the shopkeepers usually give you local receipts that may be rejected by the tax auditors. Therefore, the best thing is to apply for post paid SIM CARDS. For more on this, you can check Ethio Telecom's website. Ethio Telecom has announced in May 2019 new ways to pay your bills. You may also check Safaricom's page here.

Internet

Ethio Telcom is making access to internet much easier than it was a few years ago. Buinesses can apply for ADSL or broadband, 4G LTE. They can even use their phone's 4G and 4G LTE internet connections via tethering or hotspot, or mobile wifi. Ethio Telcom has brought down the rate significantly too. The only issue businesses may face is the quality of the service, as the internet connection speed may slow down at any time of the day. For application process and rates, you may check Ethio Telecom's website. You may also check Safaricom's page here.

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Office Equipment

Computers, Laptops, Networking equipment and accessories

Computer Dealers are found in almost every corner of the city. While buying a computer, you can go for brand new PC’s, brand laptops, and second hand brand PC’s. Dell and HP brands are widely available for desktop PC’s and Dell, Lenovo and HP are available for laptops. All these brands have their own authorized dealers. SNAP Computer (on Bole Road), ALTA CompuTEC (Bole Road) and ETComp (on Bole Road) are among the best known dealers in the city. You may find accessories in these shops as well. But it’s worthwhile to take a tour of the city (especially Bole Road, Bole Medhanialem area, Piazza) and compare prices. You can also check the Computer & Accessories Importers section and Computers/ Accessories Sales and Maintenance Service Providers section of our Ethiopian business directory.

Photocopy Machines

You may check the Office Machines Importers section and of Office Machines Sales & Repair our Ethiopian business directory.

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