Discover The Organizations

HelpAge Ethiopia is a network member of HelpAge International, a global network of organizations working to secure a fairer world for older people so they can lead safe, healthy, and dignified lives. The Ethiopia country program combines humanitarian relief, development programming, policy advocacy, and capacity strengthening to advance the rights and inclusion of older persons across the country.

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Global Affiliation & Network

• Global Parent Network: HelpAge International operates across 91 countries with over 170 network members and runs country program offices in 13 nations spanning Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe.
• National Standing: Established as the specialized affiliate dedicated to age-inclusive humanitarian and development assistance in Ethiopia.

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Vision & Mission

• Vision: A country in which all older people can lead dignified, healthy, and secure lives.
• Mission: To promote the well-being and inclusion of older women and men and reduce poverty and discrimination in later life.

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Current Focus Areas & Thematic Sectors

HelpAge Ethiopia concentrates its interventions around three primary strategic pillars: Income Security, Healthy Ageing, and Inclusive Humanitarian Action.

• Social Protection & Livelihoods: Enhancing income stability, financial access, and basic economic security for older individuals.
• Health, Nutrition & Well-Being: Delivering targeted health interventions, specialized geriatric nutrition, and psychosocial well-being support.
• Protection & Inclusion: Advocating for the mainstreaming of older individuals' needs within emergency response and development initiatives.
• Voice & Advocacy: Facilitating high-level policy dialogue and strengthening the agency of older persons to represent their rights.

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Strategic Roles & Capacity Building

• Policy Dialogue: Establishes national advocacy frameworks and coordinates high-level policy dialogues with decision-makers.
• Community Leadership: Strengthens age-inclusive local organizations and Older People’s Associations (OPAs) to lead day-to-day project implementation at local, district, and regional tiers.
• Consultative Platforms: Facilitates consensus-building between OPAs and broader civil society actors on priority age-related agendas.

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Key Institutional Partners

• Federal Ministries: Ministry of Health (MoH), Ministry of Women and Social Affairs (MoWSA).
• Government Agencies & Regulatory Bodies: Refugees and Returnees Service (RRS), Authority for Civil Society Organizations (ACSO).
• Local & International Partners: Regional administrations, academic and research institutions, UN agencies, and local Ethiopian civil society networks.

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Localization & Transition Process

In accordance with HelpAge International’s Global Strategy 2030 and commitments under the Charter for Change, the Ethiopia country office is transitioning to become locally led and managed:

• Policy Framework: Anchored in the November 2021 HelpAge position paper on Locally Led Development.
• Stakeholder Consultations: Conducted three years of stakeholder and beneficiary consultations to assess and define optimal national ownership models.
• Operational Roadmap: Finalized internal assessments, held joint consultations between the global Localization Team and local staff, and reached formal consensus on the organizational transition schedule.

Established in 2004, the Center for Accelerated Women’s Economic Empowerment (CAWEE) is a pioneer trade promotion organization providing capacity-building and promotional support to women-led Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) involved in export trade. Originating in Ethiopia, CAWEE has expanded its operational footprint to Nairobi, Kenya, with ongoing outreach across the African continent.

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Vision & Mission

• Vision: To build a vibrant, globally competitive class of women entrepreneurs in Ethiopia and across Africa, promoting sustainable economic growth, uplifting communities, and championing women’s economic empowerment.
• Mission: To empower Ethiopian women exporters by strengthening their institutional and individual capacities, facilitating sustainable access to international markets, and conducting action-oriented research to identify and remove systemic barriers, thereby fostering a more enabling and inclusive business environment for women in export trade.

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Core Values

• Integrity: Upholding unwavering honesty, ethical behavior, transparency, and accountability across all commitments.
• Innovation: Valuing creativity and forward-thinking approaches to address industry challenges and capture opportunities.
• Diversity: Embracing and respecting varied cultures, backgrounds, expertise, and perspectives.
• Teamwork: Fostering collective effort, collaboration, synergy, and shared learning to achieve impactful outcomes.
• Sustainability: Building long-term enterprise resilience through environmentally responsible business and export practices.
• Empowerment: Supporting vulnerable women entrepreneurs while advocating for broader economic inclusion.

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Support Services & Interventions

• Trade Capacity Building: Providing specialized training in international trade compliance, procedures, and standards.
• Business Development Services (BDS): Strengthening packaging, branding, and product quality to meet competitive international export requirements.
• Market Access & Linkages: Connecting women-led enterprises to domestic, regional, and global buyers, including trade fair organization.
• Trade Missions: Organizing outbound business delegations and international buyer-seller exchanges.
• Access to Finance: Facilitating pathways to capital and financial resources for SMEs.
• Policy Advocacy & Dialogue: Conducting action-oriented research, hosting policy forums, and identifying structural barriers to trade.
• AfCFTA Readiness: Equipping women-led businesses to leverage opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area.

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Leadership & Governance

• Champion: H.E. Hailemariam Desalegn (Former Prime Minister of Ethiopia; Chair of AGRA and Trademark Africa), supporting continental trade expansion under the theme "Boosting Intra-African Trade: African Women Taking the Lead."
• Founder & Executive Director: Dr. Nigest Haile
• 23 years of public sector service within the Ethiopian Ministry of Trade and Industry prior to founding CAWEE in 2004.
• Co-founder and former nine-year board member of Enat Bank, Ethiopia's first women-focused commercial bank.
• Lead Coordinator for the Office of the First Lady of Ethiopia's project, "Connecting 1,500 Women and Young Girls to the Export Market."
• Led international trade missions to 21 countries across Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
• Holds an academic background from Addis Ababa University, the Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague, Quantic School of Business & Technology, and Rai Technology University.
• Global Chair for Global Trade at G100 and board member across various international initiatives, including the Hailemariam & Roman Foundation and Opportunity International UK.

FHI 360 is a nonprofit organization that mobilizes research, resources and relationships so that people everywhere can access the opportunities they need to lead full, healthy lives. Our staff of more than 4,000 experts work in over 60 countries around the world. We have spent more than 50 years developing bold solutions to global challenges and creating measurable results through research and application of scientific breakthroughs. We listen to, learn from and work with communities to expand social and economic equity, improve health and well-being, and strengthen resilience.

By bringing together deep expertise and diverse perspectives, we collaborate with partner communities and peer organizations to build enduring networks and expand our collective impact.

In everything we do, we advocate for access and equity for people everywhere, enabling them to create their own paths forward.

Helvetas - About Us Our local teams are active in 35 partner countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. We are committed to fair opportunities worldwide — through access to clean drinking water, quality education and civic participation.

Independent. Committed. Globally networked. Helvetas is a leading Swiss organization for development cooperation and humanitarian response – denominationally neutral and politically independent. As an association with a strong membership base in Switzerland, we are committed to a fairer world worldwide. Our sister organizations in the USA and Germany, our membership in Alliance2015, and our sponsorship of Alliance Sud all strengthen our global network.

Our vision Our vision is of a just world in which all people live self-determined lives in dignity and security, use natural resources sustainably and care for the environment.

Our mission Helvetas supports disadvantaged people and communities in low- and middle-income countries who want to actively improve their living conditions. Through partnership-based development cooperation, we promote pathways for self-help and create fair opportunities for all. We provide humanitarian aid following disasters and in times of crisis.

We stand up for fundamental rights and strengthen our partners in development policy issues. We combat the root causes of poverty through sustainable projects.

In Switzerland, we are committed to a coherent foreign and economic policy that meets the needs of people in developing and transitional countries.

Cesvi is an international humanitarian organization operating worldwide to support vulnerable populations in promoting human rights and achieving sustainable development. Guided by the values of solidarity and justice, the organization works under the premise that recognizing human rights contributes to global well-being and the protection of the planet.

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Institutional Background & History

• Operational Experience: Over 40 years of international cooperation, emergency relief, and sustainable development.
• Founder: Maurizio Carrara.
• Key Interventions: Historic and ongoing operations spanning the fight against hunger in North Korea, HIV/AIDS response in Zimbabwe, humanitarian aid during conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, and child-focused support programs in Italy.

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Core Intervention Sectors

• Emergencies: Rapid response and relief operations during crises and armed conflicts.
• Fight Against Hunger: Food security initiatives and malnutrition prevention programs.
• Child Protection: Specialized protection and welfare support targeted toward vulnerable children.
• Health: Healthcare interventions and disease response initiatives.
• Sustainable Development: Long-term development projects focused on community empowerment and self-reliance.
• Awareness Campaigns: Advocacy and public education on human rights and global humanitarian challenges.

The Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (EWLA) is a non-profit, non-partisan civil society organization founded in 1995 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, dedicated to protecting and promoting the legal, economic, social, and political rights of women.

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Mission and Objectives

• Promote Equality: Eliminate legal, traditional, and societal discrimination against women to secure equal rights under the Ethiopian Constitution and international conventions.
• Access to Justice: Provide free legal assistance and representation for disadvantaged women and survivors of gender-based violence (GBV).
• Policy Influence: Reform gender-insensitive laws and advocate for protective legislation, including revisions to family and criminal codes.

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Core Programs

• Free Legal Aid Services: Delivers legal counseling, drafting of court pleadings, and direct courtroom representation for vulnerable women and GBV survivors.
• Multilingual Helpline: Operates a toll-free hotline (7711) providing accessible legal support in Amharic, Afan Oromo, and Tigrigna.

East Africa Bottling Share Company (EABSC), a subsidiary of CCBA, is the largest bottler of Coca-Cola products in Ethiopia, having served the country for more than 60 years. EABSC has four plants in Addis Ababa, Bahir Dar, Dire Dawa and Sebeta. Sebeta, which was inaugurated in May 2022, is the largest Coca-Cola plant in Ethiopia.

Ambo Mineral Water Share Company (AMWSC), with its 90-year track record in Ethiopia, is also a subsidiary of CCBA. 

CCBA in Ethiopia has been recognised as a Top Employer for 2025 and 2026 by the Top Employers Institute.

As one of CCBA’s lead markets, Ethiopia is under the leadership of Melkamu Abebe.

Vision Inkomoko believes in the catalytic power of entrepreneurship, not just as a livelihood tool, but as a pathway to dignity and economic transformation for communities. We believe that African solutions will solve African problems.

Vision Inkomoko reflects the communities it serves, bringing together colleagues whose own journeys through displacement and entrepreneurship have shaped a rare understanding of what it takes to build stability, opportunity, and a future in a new place. Sunday Khor, Inkomoko Business Associate, Ethiopia

Inkomoko Mission Inkomoko’s mission is to accelerate economic inclusion by equipping entrepreneurs from forcibly displaced populations and marginalized communities with the tools to succeed; backing their ideas; building market access; and influencing systems to be more inclusive.

We leverage private sector approaches to address entrenched economic challenges, enabling entrepreneurs to create jobs and move out of poverty with dignity.

Founded in the UK in 2008, Hope for Justice is now an international charity working across the world. We help victims and survivors directly and also bring about long-term change through our work with governments, law enforcement, the business community and the general public. Find out more about our work and our model at our What we do page.

Our wholly owned social enterprise, Slave-Free Alliance, provides services to other organisations that wish to protect their own operations and supply chains from modern slavery.

Hope for Justice’s vision is to live in a world free from slavery, and every step of the journey towards achieving this ambition is empowered by a global movement of supporters, campaigners, donors, fundraisers and freedom-bringers.

The humanitarian needs in Ethiopia are escalating at an alarming rate because of armed conflict and climate change. The country is grappling with an increase in natural disasters, disease outbreaks, and desert locust infestations, all of which are contributing to a surge in extreme poverty. As a result, more than 10 million people across the nation are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

The ongoing conflict between the government and armed groups in northern Ethiopia, which began in November 2020, has triggered mass migration, widespread food insecurity and a devastating loss of life and injury.