The Team

Dereje Ashenafi

Legal Director, Real Estate, Mining and Energy

Dereje Ashenafi is a Legal Director in MLA’s Real Estate, Mining & Energy. He brings a solid track record of advising on a broad range of complex transactions and strategic investment projects across key sectors. Before joining MLA, Dereje served for two years as a Legal Advisor at the Ethiopian Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC) and for three years at a private law office in Addis Ababa. At MLA, Dereje mainly advises on large-scale real estate developments and transactions, energy and mining investments, public-private partnerships, and capital markets.

Education: LL. B, Addis Ababa University School of Law, Ethiopia, with Great Distinction (2018).
LLM in Business Law, Addis Ababa University, with Very Great Distinction (2025).

Advising an Embassy based in Ethiopia on its large scale diplomatic site redevelopment project in Addis Ababa;
Advised an Embassy based in Ethiopia on landholding and lease arrangements related to its diplomatic premises;
Advised an Embassy based in Ethiopia on diplomatic residential rents registration and other regulatory matters;
Advising the Government of Ethiopia in relation its deal with an independent power producer for the development of a 125 MW solar project worth USD 132 investment;
Advising the Government of Ethiopia on its large-scale public-private partnership (PPP) affordable housing projects in Addis Ababa;
Advised group of lenders on their investment in the Tulu Moye Geothermal Project;
Advised an international mining company on its dispute with the Ministry of Mines regarding license termination;
Advised an international brewery company on its merger and acquisition of a foreign owned brewery and various other regulatory issues;
Advised an international paint manufacturing company on its investment in Adama Industrial Park, including land-related legal matters;
Advised an international wing of the world bank on lease arrangements on residential properties;
Advised an international chemical manufacturing company on landholding and broader investment regulatory matters;
Advised an international real estate company on large-scale PPP projects in collaboration with the Addis Ababa City Administration;
Advised a pan-African financial corporation on a major expansion project in Addis Ababa;
Advised an international import and export bank on debt recovery claims against several Ethiopian commercial banks;
Advising a domestic commercial bank in the preparation of prospectus to be registered by the Ethiopian Capital Markets Authority;