Cold-Chain Logistics & Refrigerated Warehousing for Horticulture Export Corridor (Dire Dawa Free Trade Zone)

Ethiopia is posting record FDI figures — USD 4.32 billion in fiscal year 2025/26, an 8% year-on-year increase — driven by sweeping macroeconomic reforms, a floating birr, and 528 new investment licenses issued by the Ethiopian Investment Commission. The government has liberalised previously closed trade sectors under Directive 1082/2025, opening import, export, wholesale, and retail markets to foreign investors, including the right to export raw coffee, oilseeds, and livestock. WTO accession negotiations have reached a 'decisive juncture' as of April 2026, with bilateral market-access deals under active finalisation. Ethiopia's renewable energy market — estimated at 8.64 GW in 2026 — is growing at a projected 20.9% CAGR to 2031, anchored by industrial-park solar manufacturing and the Ethiopia–Kenya HVDC power export corridor. Meanwhile, the new Dire Dawa Free Trade Zone and horticulture export growth are creating structural gaps in cold-chain logistics that remain largely unserved by private capital.

The opening of the Dire Dawa Free Trade Zone and the expansion of Bishoftu International Airport have created an acute shortage of cold-storage and temperature-controlled transport capacity serving Ethiopia's fast-growing flower and horticultural export industry. Ethiopia attracted USD 4.32 billion in FDI in 2025/26 — with manufacturing and agro-processing leading licensed project categories — yet cold-chain infrastructure remains a critical bottleneck that private investors can fill ahead of larger institutional capital.

Market drivers:

- Ethiopia is a top-five global cut-flower exporter; Dire Dawa Free Trade Zone activation is accelerating perishable-goods throughput that requires refrigerated logistics

- FDI-driven industrial park expansion across Hawassa, Bole Lemi, and Dire Dawa is generating growing demand for cold-chain logistics from food-processing tenants

- Ethiopia's GDP is growing at approximately 6.4% annually (UNDP 2025), driving domestic cold-food retail demand alongside export volumes

Risks:

- Forex access for importing refrigeration equipment and spare parts remains administratively slow under National Bank of Ethiopia's import-permit regime

- Infrastructure bottlenecks — power reliability and road quality outside industrial parks — can inflate cold-chain operating costs and increase product-loss rates