Ethiopia: Contracts and Commercial Law

Ethiopia’s post-July 2024 foreign exchange (FX) reforms—anchored in the National Bank of Ethiopia’s Foreign Exchange Directive No. FXD/01/2024—represent a structural shift from administratively constrained FX allocation toward a more market-based exchange rate and broader authorization of current-account FX transactions through the banking system.

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'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.

The long-standing Commercial Code of Ethiopia first issued in 1952 was just recently replaced with a new Code in 2021.

As part of the government's effort to update and modernize existing laws in the commercial sector, a number of laws have been revised and a few new ones have been enacted.