Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Organization: Expertise France
Deadline: 28 January 2026, 09:00
Job Description
Mission description
General objective
The overall objective is to provide technical assistance that will ensure the active implementation of activities for the related Strategic Objective (SO5) of the Project.
Specific objectives
- Legal and policy frameworks aligned with the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol
- Digital Trade Policy analysis
- Develop a legislative harmonisation roadmap
- Implement a national (legal) awareness campaign on the DTP
- Streamlining operational digital system support for cross-border trade
- System readiness assessment of existing national and regional platforms
- Design one targeted cross-border pilot trade corridor that incorporates digital services and logistics
- Deploy one pilot project with limited functional scope for priority systems
- Support the maintenance of a trade information portal that provides information relevant to traders
- Strengthening institutional capacity and coordination
- Facilitate regular technical workshops and dialogues at federal and regional levels to strengthen coordination
- Train and institutionalise DT focal points
- Increasing inclusive participation in digital trade ecosystems
- Develop practical onboarding toolkits to guide SMEs and women-led businesses in engaging with DTP
- Monitor uptake of DT by SMEs
- Broader societal awareness and inclusion in digital trade increased
- Commission a mid-term evaluation to (i) assess progress, (ii) identify learning, and (iii) guide adaptive implementation
- Undertake a final, external summative evaluation to capture (i) results, (ii) document lessons learned, and (iii) produce policy recommendations for sustaining DT reforms
- Participation in trade conference to enhance trade DTP
Description of the assignment
The service provider must provide this service in line with the agreed procedure and timelines of Expertise France:
Methodology and Tasks
- Review relevant project documents (to be shared once contracted)
- Participate in an Inception Meeting with the ECOTRADE team and other stakeholders to define expectations
- Ensure consistency with Expertise France and EU implementation guidelines.
- Hold intermittent meetings with ECOTRADE, where required, to track progress of work
Anticipated deliverables (not exhaustive)
- A legal and policy gap analysis of Ethiopia’s DT-related laws
- A systems readiness assessment of existing national and regional platforms, incl. MESOB, PAPSS, EthSwitch, e-commerce systems, and customs platforms
- Training and institutionalisation of digital trade focal points, embedding capacity within the civil service
- A practical onboarding toolkits developed to guide SMEs and women-led businesses in engaging with digital trade platforms and complying with the AfCFTA digital trade protocol
- A monitoring report of digital trade uptake by SMEs, disaggregated by gender, region, and age, to inform inclusive policy and programme adjustments
- A comprehensive report of implemented activities contributing to the monitoring and evaluation functions, knowledge management and reporting of the Project
Notes:
- The above Deliverables are indicative and not exhaustive
- Specific Deliverables with actual deadlines will be indicated in respective Purchase Orders that will be issued for each assignment under this Framework Agreement.
- All deliverables must be submitted in English and follow the EU’s standard format for project documents (templates will be shared).
Coordination
The expert will work under the direct supervision of an assigned official from the ECOTRADE Project. Coordination with specific stakeholders may be required.
Place, duration and terms of performance
- Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (with possible remote options)
- Implementation period: Indicative start date for February 2026. Specific work periods will be indicated in respective Purchase Orders to be issued
Project or context description
The ECOTRADE Project is a four-year initiative (2025–2029) funded by the European Union and implemented by Expertise France. It supports Ethiopia’s implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), with a focus on strengthening institutional capacity, promoting private-sector-led regional value chains, and supporting knowledge systems.
The rationale behind the Project and its focus on supporting the implementation of the AfCFTA in Ethiopia with a focus on the private-led value chain development (VCD) approach is based on the following elements :
- Ethiopia, with the fastest-growing youth population, stands to benefit the most if the country implements trade facilitation measures that cuts red tape and simplifies customs procedures for the private sector. Nevertheless, it requires expertise in various areas to guide policymakers and chain actors in the implementation of the AfCFTA.
- In countries such as Ethiopia, which are affected by fragility and conflict, the private sector plays a critical role in providing jobs, income, and stability. Hence, providing technical support to private sector players to build their internal capacity to start trading across borders, or increase their trade volumes, or/and geographical coverage is paramount and must take center stage.
- The Private Sector will need to be capacitated to increase their readiness across various strategic sectors to take advantage of new opportunities unfolding under the new single market that the AfCFTA creates.
- The promotion of value chains is a complex challenge within the realm of private sector development and beyond; therefore, the potential of such interventions for local economic development and poverty reduction through trade in value added and RVCs is significant.
- Promoting value chain development is increasingly being recognized as a promising approach to address not only economic development, decent job creation, equitable and inclusive growth, but a wider range of social and environmental development issues, thus able to legitimise stronger efforts to support private sector development.
- Increasing openness to AfCFTA will lead to higher competitive pressure on regional but also on Ethiopian domestic markets. This regional integration, where production and trade relationships are nowadays much more coordinated, leaves less space for individual firms and small enterprises to design, produce, and market on their own. Thus, it is important to understand how to integrate in value chains in a way that allows for incorporation of a growing number of the workforce and increasing levels of productivity and incomes for SMEs and women-led businesses.
The Project currently has five (5) Strategic Objectives (SOs).
- Specific Objective 1: The private sector is actively engaged alongside the government to support the AfCFTA’s successful implementation
- Specific Objective 2: Regional value chains are integrated, and trade/transport connectivity is facilitated with a focus on increasing women’s participation in commercial and logistics processes
- Specific Objective 3: Relevant authorities in the implementation of the AfCFTA are supported
- Specific Objective 4: Academic institutions and research institutions are supported
- Specific Objective 5: Enhance Ethiopia’s readiness to implement the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol
In line with the above, the ECOTRADE Project is seeking to engage the services of Digital Trade Experts within a Framework Agreement to support with the structuring and implementation of interventions related to the thematic area of Regional Value Chains.
Required profile
Number of expert positions per assignment: 2 Individual Consultants
Please note: each Consultant will be recruited separately and will be assigned specific tasks (within the framework of this assignment) by the issuance of Purchase Orders.
Profile of the designated expert(s) responsible for contract execution
- · Advanced degree in International Trade, Economics, Business, Trade Policies or related field.· Proven experience with SME capacity building, Digital Trade Implementation, and trade policy analysis (preferably in Ethiopia).· English required; Amharic an asset.
- · Excellent communication, facilitation, and report writing skills.
- · Minimum 3 years’ experience in private sector development, trade policy, digital trade policies or international development.
Selection criteria for applications
The selection process for candidates will be based on the following criteria :
- Candidate’s training/skills/experience
- Candidate’s expected linguistic understanding
- Candidate’s knowledges related to local context (country or region intervention)
Deadline for application : 2026/01/28 09:00