The Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) has taken a major step toward modernizing the country’s agribusiness sector by facilitating digital trading valued at 12.5 billion birr through its new direct online trading system. This milestone underscores ECX’s leadership in advancing Ethiopia’s “Digital Ethiopia” agenda by providing a transparent, reliable, and efficient platform for trading agricultural products.
The announcement coincided with ECX signing a service agreement with Sidama Bank S.C., its 26th payment partner. The pact, signed by ECX CEO Mergia Baisa and Sidama Bank President Tadesse Hitiya, strengthens the payment and delivery (PVD) system that ECX has operated flawlessly over the past 17 years.
The online trading platform allows buyers and sellers to transact seamlessly from any location, eliminating the need for physical presence and enabling market access even for remote producers and traders. Since its inception, the digital system has handled more than 27,830 metric tons of products, delivering services characterized by confidentiality, efficiency, and zero human contact, a feature particularly relevant in the current era.
Over the course of 17 years, ECX has facilitated the exchange of over 420 billion birr between market participants, generating more than 20 billion birr in domestic income taxes. The exchange currently markets over 28 products across 26 branches nationwide, continuously expanding to include new commodities in support of Ethiopia’s export growth goals.
Notably, during the 2024/25 fiscal year, barley, teff, flaxseed, castor bean, finger millet, and rapeseed were integrated into ECX’s modern marketing system. Preparations are underway to introduce cotton, opal, leather, and lettuce into the exchange as early as fiscal year 2018, signaling ongoing diversification.
To enhance farmers’ access to finance, ECX provided 1.011 billion birr in credit services to farmers, cooperatives, and processors in 2024/25. Its model has positioned Ethiopia as a continental leader in modern agricultural marketing and capacity building, offering training in areas such as coffee tasting and grain grading.
In tandem with trade modernization, ECX announced plans for constructing a 36-story headquarters in Addis Ababa, which is envisioned as a hub for continued innovation and service excellence. Additionally, a rebranding initiative is underway to update the 17-year-old corporate logo, reflecting ECX’s commitment to maintaining competitiveness and pioneering Ethiopia’s digital agricultural transformation.
