The first chamber of commerce in the history of Ethiopia was established pursuant to General Notice No. 90/1947 which clearly defined the functions and duties of chamber and membership was voluntary. In 1971 the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce (ECC) has been reorganized with branches in Asmara, Dire Dawa, Jimma, Gonder & Nazareth. Following the change of government in 1974, Proclamation No. 148/1974, which was basically a public law, was promulgated and the Ethiopian chamber of commerce was restructured in line with centrally planned economic policy of the then government. Membership had become mandatory. In 2003, Proclamation No. 341/2003 the re-constitute of chambers of commerce was based on Developmental Democratic System. Accordingly, in line with this the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce has been restructured and renamed as the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce & Sectoral Associations (ECCSA).
Establishment of ECCSA

ECCSA is an Autonomous, Non-for-Profit, Non-Partisan, Private Sector institution and membership based organization. ECCSA was established with the aim of projecting trade and investment, inter alia, in a bid to creating a vibrant private sector and business friendly environment, working in cooperation with the government, business community, development partners and stakeholders.
ECCSA has eighteen members including nine Regional Chambers of Commerce and Sectoral Associations, two City Chambers of Commerce and Sectoral Associations, one National Chamber of Sectoral Association and six Sectoral Associations organized at national level.
The higher decision making body at the Chamber system is the General Assembly (GA) which is composed of the representatives of member chambers of commerce and sectoral associations of ECCSA. The GA elects the president, the vice president and nine Board of Directors every two years. A management team led by the secretariat manages the day to day operation of the chamber.
ECCSA Objectives

According to the proclamation 341/2003 article 3, Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations have the following objectives:-

To provide different services to the business community;
To safeguard the overall rights and benefits of its members;
To promote and publicize products and services of the country;
To enhance trade and investment of the country;
To serve as a bridge between the business community and the government.