IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The Ethiopian government is prepared to commence an Electronic Government Procurement (EGP) system to increase the effectiveness of public procurement procedures.

As Tsegaye Abebe, Procurement Coordinator and Training Advisor with Public Procurement and Property Administration Agency, explained, the system is expected to increase operational efficiency, transparency, and competition between bidders. It will also enable institutions to increase efficiency through automation of manual processes.

The e-service installation and development was conducted by two private IT solution providers at a cost of 3.8 million Birr. Africom Technologies Plc developed 33 of the e-services portal for 2.8 million Birr while E-System Africahad supplied the remaining 16 at a cost of 1 million Birr it was said at the time.

In the ever-evolving realm of global economics, Ethiopia stands at the precipice of a digital revolution that holds the power to reshape its economy. With a rapidly expanding population and an increasingly interconnected world, Ethiopia’s digital economy carries tremendous promise in unlocking unprecedented growth and addressing urgent challenges, such as unemployment. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reported that in 2023, Ethiopia’s population reached 126.5 million, with 58 percent falling within the 15-64 age group, which constitutes an active demographic for digital usage. Drawing inspiration from the remarkable transformations witnessed in countries like China, Japan, and South Korea, Ethiopia’s trajectory towards digital advancement appears poised to steer it towards prosperity and innovation.

The Ethiopians are in the country for a one-week tour to learn and share experience on how ICT has successfully been used in education.

Ethiopia is among those countries with the lowest level of internet penetration and use. A 2014 World Internet Stats report, for instance, claims that Ethiopia has had only 1.9% internet penetration. Similarly, the World Economic Forum also rated the number of internet users in Ethiopia at 1.1%, ranking the country 142 out of 144 countries surveyed in 2012/13. As of December 31, 2013, that number had only risen to 5.5%, according to a report released by the Ethiopian government. Indeed, it was only in 1997 that Ethiopia introduced the internet, and not until 2005 that the first four thousand kilometers of fiber optic backbone were laid in Addis Ababa. This delay in the proliferation of the internet has played a role in delaying the development of internet policies including legislative measures surrounding the internet.