Ethiopia: Inward/ Foreign Investment

The commercial relationship between the United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia has deepened considerably over the past decade, driven by geographic proximity, complementary economic profiles, and a growing web of bilateral agreements that provide the legal infrastructure for sustained investment flows. For UAE-based investors — whether Emirati nationals, family offices, sovereign-adjacent funds, or the substantial community of international entrepreneurs who operate through UAE corporate structures —

Ethiopia has emerged as one of the most compelling investment destinations on the African continent. With a population exceeding 120 million — the second largest in Africa — a strategic geographic position at the crossroads of African, Middle Eastern, and Asian trade routes, and a government that has undertaken a sweeping programme of economic liberalisation, the country presents opportunities of a scale and diversity that few jurisdictions on the continent can match.

Ethiopia's commercial landscape has undergone a profound structural transformation since the enactment of the Commercial Code of Ethiopia (Proclamation No. 1243/2021), which replaced the venerable 1960 Commercial Code that had governed business activity in the country for over six decades.