Overview

Electronic signatures facilitate faster and more secure document signing for the public and private sector, with the flexibility to choose the option that is most efficient for each organization, department, or project. With the passage of the Electronic Signature Proclamation No. 1072/2018, electronic signatures became legal in Ethiopia.

Types of Electronic Signatures in Ethiopia

  1. Electronic Signature: Refers to information in electronic form, affixed to or logically associated with an electronic message, which may be used to identify the signatory in relation to the electronic message.
  2. Digital Signature: Defined as an electronic signature that uses asymmetric cryptosystem and meets specific requirements such as unique linking to the signatory, private key usage, and detectability of any changes.

Digital Signature uses a certificate-based digital ID to authenticate a signer’s identity. Certificates used in digital signatures are usually issued by a certificate authority (CA) and demonstrate proof of signing by binding the digital certificate associated with each signature to the document using encryption.