2merkato

The general guidelines for participating in a tender in Ethiopia can be found HERE. But as a foreign supplier, one has to officially nominate an agent in Ethiopia and the agent has to fulfill the requirements in the guideline. The agent can buy the tender documents and send them over to you. If you decide to participate in the tender, you can prepare the tender document and send them to the agent via fax and the sealed copy via courier to the agent. The agent will submit the tender documents.

Some Tips

• If you are a trading house and do not manufacture the goods, you may be sometimes asked to present a certificate from the manufacturer that shows you have been nominated or you have the backing of the manufacturer.
• You will usually be asked to prepare a bid bond/bid security of 2%. It should reach the bank (in Ethiopia) nominated by the company that floated the tender before the deadline. The bid bond will be released to you if you do not win the tender.
• Don't send the exact 2%, send a little extra. That way you can avoid the risk of your competitors knowing your price.
• The agent will ask you some percentage of commission (the percentage depends on the type of product, etc). But usually the agent will be logical enough to know that more commission means higher price and hence higher risk of losing the tender.
• If you win the tender, you will usually be asked to deposit a performance bond of 10%. The money should be released to you after the goods have been discharged and inspected and found to be according to the specification in your original offer/ according to the tender document.
• You can find agents on the agents section of the Ethiopian Business Directory of 2merkato.com; importers sometimes want to act as agents as well. You may find them on the importers section of the Ethiopian Business Directory of 2merkato.com. But you should always check their experiences in handling a tender.

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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) delegation led by its director general and CEO, Tony Tyler, is set to visit Ethiopia this coming month.

The delegation will arrive in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on April 16 to celebrate World Aviation Day with executives of Ethiopian Airlines and officials of the Ministry of Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority of Ethiopia. This would be for the first time for IATA to marks World Aviation Day in Ethiopia.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) last week announced that Ethiopia’s air cargo market is the fastest growing in the world, along with Vietnam, Bangladesh Brazil and Peru, The Reporter reported.

Trade and investment agreements worth more than USD 44 billion are expected to be finalized at the fourth edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF 2025), scheduled for 4–10 September 2025 in Algeria.

IBM is launching plans to increase its market share in Ethiopia with increasing demand for its products. The increased demand from local partners has been quite significant according to an IBM recruitment event held at the Addis Ababa Hilton Hotel this week.  The event was attended by representatives from various governmental and private institutions.

Ethiopia is one of the fastest growing economies in the world with ever increasing opportunities said Gordon Lehman, Market Development Advisor for IBM.

IBM is seeking to invest in Ethiopia for these reasons and the stable macro-economy, investment protection, stable government, transparent legal framework and streamlined procedures according to Lehman.