Overview
Ethiopia
Ethiopia is a landlocked country of about 135 million people in the Horn of Africa and the second most populous country in Africa. Covering roughly 1.1 million km², it borders Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan, and Sudan. Addis Ababa is the capital and the seat of the African Union. Much of the country is a high plateau divided by the Great Rift Valley, with lowlands along its borders. Ethiopia was not colonized, apart from an Italian occupation from 1936 to 1941. The monarchy was overthrown in 1974, and the military government that followed fell in 1991. The 1995 Constitution established a federal parliamentary republic, and Abiy Ahmed has been prime minister since 2018. A war in the Tigray region from 2020 to 2022 displaced millions of people, and armed conflict continues in parts of the Amhara and Oromia regions. Since Eritrea’s independence in 1993, Ethiopia has had no coastline and relies mainly on the port of Djibouti for its trade. Amharic is the working language of the federal government, and Christianity is the predominant religion, alongside Islam.
Ethiopia is a low-income country and one of the fastest-growing economies in Sub-Saharan Africa. Agriculture employs about 62% of the workforce, and coffee is the main export. Hydropower supplies most of the country’s electricity, including the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile. In July 2024, the government adopted a market-determined exchange rate as part of a broader macroeconomic reform. In 2025, Ethiopia’s GDP per capita was approximately US$933, and real GDP grew by 9.8%.
Source: World Bank. (2026). World Development Indicators, from https://data.worldbank.org/country/ethiopia
Institutions
Institutions with at least one Faculty Member Registered with Ivey Publishing
- Adama University
- Addis Ababa University
- Admas University College
- Africa Beza University College
- Afro-Canadian College
- Aksum University
- Ambo University
- Arba Minch University
- Bahir Dar University
- City University College
- Debre Birhan University
- Debre Markos University
- Dilla University
- Ethiopian Civil Service University
- Ethiopian Management Institute
- Evangelical Theological College
- Grace College of Business and Computer Science
- Graduate School of Telecommunications and Information Technology
- Haramaya University
- Hawassa University
- Infonet College
- Jethro Leadership & Management Institute
- Jigjiga University
- Jimma University
- Mekelle Institute of Technology
- Mekelle University
- Meserete Kristos College
- Microlink College
- New Generation University College
- Pan-African University
- Saint Mary’s University College Ethiopia
- Samara University
- Unity University
- University of Gondar
- Wolaita Sodo University
- Wollega University
- Yenegew Sew University College
- Zega Business College
Source: Ivey Publishing. 39C Accounts by Country. Provided by Adrianna Gleam-Fossaceca, Ivey Publishing, August 11, 2026.
Cases
Ivey-Copyrighted Cases in or involving Ethiopia
Ivey Publishing and the 39 Country Initiative welcome additional case submissions that deepen understanding of Ethiopia’s businesses, institutions, industries, and broader economic and social context.
| Case | Authors | Published / Revised | Product Number | Pages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gebeya Inc.: Finding the Best of African Talent | Thomas Witherspoon, Niels Hurst, Rediet Deribe, Abigiya Sem | Mar 10, 2025 | W42552 | 8 |
| Where Have You Been? An Exercise to Assess Your Exposure to the Rest of the World’s Peoples | Paul W. Beamish | Nov 27, 2025 | W48085 | 11 |
| Winsol: An Opportunity For Solar Expansion | Niels Hurst, Debi Dessalegn, Biruk Anteneh | Jan 10, 2025 | W41810 | 7 |
| Brightwater Ethiopia: Clean Water from Broken Wells | Christopher Williams, Gayle Allard, Atsede Tesfaye | Mar 17, 2023 | W29898_P | 11 |
| Chiban Leather: Designing The Next Chapter | Nicole R.D. Haggerty, Jennifer Dobrowolski, Jasmyn Dossa, Michelina Aguanno, Jessica Orchin | Dec 16, 2020 | 9B20M185 | 6 |
| Leadership Problems at Ganzeb Microfinance Institution | Nicole R.D. Haggerty, Wubeshet Bekalu, Emmag MacDonald, Darren Hall, Ahsan Syed | Dec 5, 2018 | 9B17C040 | 6 |
| Liyu Ethiopia Tours: Growth and Expansion Options | Nicole R.D. Haggerty, Andrew Patton, Desmond Chan, Joseph Hoekstra | Jul 12, 2018 | 9B18M076 | 7 |
| Feed Green Ethiopia Exports: Stabilizing Product Quality and Price | Nicole R.D. Haggerty, Carmen Leung, Jensen Liu, Katherine Tan | Jul 11, 2018 | 9B18M102 | 7 |
| Femu Advertising: The Expansion Opportunity | Cathy Chen, Eric Morse | Jun 16, 2017 | 9B17M083_P | 5 |
| Ethiopian Airlines: Bringing Africa Together | Paul W. Beamish, Yamlaksira Getachew | Feb 14, 2014; revised Nov 18, 2014 | 9B14M005_P | 14 |
Source: Ivey Publishing. Retrieved October 4, 2026, from https://www.iveypublishing.ca/s/
Workshops
Workshops Provided to Institutions in Ethiopia
The 39 Country Initiative’s most substantial outreach to date has centered on faculty development through in-person case-teaching workshops. The first workshop series in Ethiopia ran from July 10–17, 2025. Yamlaksira Getachew, Associate Professor of Strategy at Babson College, led 3 in-person workshops in Addis Ababa at
− Addis Ababa University School of Commerce
− Ethiopian Civil Service University
− Addis Ababa University Faculty of Business and Economics.
Photos from the workshop series can be found at https://www.ivey.uwo.ca/39country/news/2025/07/ethiopia-1/.
Professor Getachew is a co-author of Ethiopian Airlines: Bringing Africa Together, published by Ivey Publishing in 2014. The 39 Country Initiative also supports online case-teaching activities as part of its broader outreach. Opportunities remain to extend this engagement beyond in-person workshops and reach a wider number of institutions in Ethiopia.
The 39 Country Initiative also collects donated books, journals, and business cases and ships them to higher education institutions in the countries it serves. The School of Commerce at Addis Ababa University received a 20-foot container of books in January 2014, collected through the Western University bookstore, Textbooks for Change, and Ivey and Western faculty.
Source: 39 Country Initiative. Book Shipments. Retrieved October 26, 2026, from https://www.ivey.uwo.ca/39country/about/book-shipments/