Ethiopia is developing a five-year strategy to strengthen national geospatial data infrastructure, expand digital addressing and address regulatory gaps that hinder the sharing of location-based information across government institutions.
The initiative follows a strategic review of Ethiopia’s Space Science and Geospatial Institute by Frehiwot Tamru, minister of innovation and technology, alongside directors-general of institutions under the ministry.
The review assessed the institute’s capacity, performance and progress against its mandate, with the ministry calling for integrated geospatial data to support federal and regional decision-making.
The review identified gaps in data coordination and regulatory enforcement, prompting Tamru to direct the institute to review existing policies and regulations, identify priority projects and clarify institutional responsibilities.
The strategy is expected to align the institute’s work with national development priorities, including infrastructure planning, agriculture and urban development.
The minister also called for digital addressing to be expanded nationwide to support e-commerce, improve logistics and strengthen location-based digital services.
Rwanda’s geospatial data infrastructure and Ghana’s GhanaPostGPS illustrate how shared geographic data can support public planning and digital services. Their approaches offer lessons for Ethiopia’s geospatial data integration and nationwide digital addressing plans.
The institute is also expected to engage relevant stakeholders in a feasibility study for a proposed communications satellite.
The strategy’s impact will depend on how its priorities are translated into funded projects, clear responsibilities and coordinated systems that deliver practical benefits for government, businesses and citizens.
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