Ethiopia’s Government Tackles Unease of Doing Business with Integrated Digital Platform

In a bid to improve Ethiopia’s ease of doing business, the Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MinT) has expanded its digital portal to provide access to 10 government services. Dubbed the National Business Portal (NBR), the platform unveiled yesterday provides step-by-step support for prospective investors in Ethiopia. Users can access construction permit applications, file for business licenses, pay taxes, and file complaints through the new portal.

In its final publication, the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index ranked Ethiopia 159^th out of 190 countries by factoring in ten indicators. While the rollout of E-government services across several sectors has yielded some progress, comprehensive national impact remains out of reach.

The second iteration of the Platform introduced yesterday adds services like payment integration via Telebirr and Cbe Birr, complaint management, and case tracking capacities. It also expands the geographical coverage of e-services from the capital into cities like Adama in Oromia Regional State, Dire Dawa City, and Bahir Dar in Amhara Regional State.

Ephrem Belew, Government E-Services Director at MinT, says the Ministry revamped the six-year-old platform to bolster its capacities and expand its service portfolio. He suggested that nearly all government e-services have been integrated into the platform.

“Three more cities are also included even if every service is not currently available to them,” Ephrem told Shega.

A phone number, an email, or a Telegram profile can be used to access the NBR platform, which opens an expansive dashboard highlighting several services.

As part of advancing the Digital Ethiopia 2025 initiative spearheaded by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD), several government offices have integrated massive IT infrastructures into their services. MinT’s e-service portal in 2019 tried to lay the foundation for a centralized public service platform, despite having mixed success. While significant gains have been made in some areas, the lack of accurate tracking and monitoring systems to identify and address existing challenges have remained a challenge to seamless digitization. Infrastructure issues and a lack of incentives have also endured as major obstacles to implementing digitalization at regional levels and across different sectors in Ethiopia.

Mint’s new platform looks to bridge existing gaps through an improved interface that effortlessly allows both sides of the digital window to operate with ease. Ephrem says users will no longer be forced to physically visit government offices, even for historically arduous services like construction permits.

“Experts from the land development bureau and construction authority are both available on the Platform,” he notes.