One government official told me that if I had a good idea for a business he could have it approved in a week. Still, certain types of enterprises face odd restrictions. For instance, I can open a bank in Addis Ababa, but I am not allowed to own a barbershop. I can start my own telephone company, but I can't be a tailor. This is clearly a holdover from the communists, who didn't want anyone but locals working in the trades.
Opportunities certainly exist for entrepreneurs in Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian economy needs just about everything. Labor is incredibly cheap. Unlike other places in Africa where you need the approval of at least 10 different committees before you can make your first sale, the Ethiopian government is trying to streamline the process. In fact, the government has set up a kind of one-stop shopping service for foreigners who want to invest directly in local businesses. There is no Ethiopian stock market, however, nor any publicly traded Ethiopian companies.