The major objective of this paper is to explore the strength and weakness of the valu e chain in thernEthiopian leather garment sub sector. In order to look into the strength and weakness of the leatherrngarment value chain, nine garments and three tanneries were purposive ly se lected as case studies. In orderrnto see the linkage between the garments, the tanneries and their distributors in the garments value chain,rnqualitative method and simple quantitative methods of analys is like percentage arc used.rnThough Ethiopian fini shed leather is renowned for its fin e sheep sk in in glove making industriesrnthroughout the world, garment producers are making their products from reject quality leather unwantedrnby export standards. Owners oJ' t h ~ garmenls in Ihe sludy a r~ luund 10 be in vo lved in all ac ll v ll l ~' ul Iii"rngarments from the workshop to the office administration, sa les, marketing, and planning issues. Theirrninvolvement from big purchasin g, marketing and production monitoring responsibilities to small day tornday office affaires and personnel management has resulted in very little time to carry out cooperationrnopportunities (with similar firm s) and strengthening the leather garment supply chain.rnThe firms are small sca le enter prises and linkage among thcm is characterized by mi strust and lack ofrncooperation to work together. The lack of coordi nation is a major reason for lack of bargaining power inrnleather purchase from their suppliers, lack of collective effic iency (greater production capac ity) in thernexport acti vities, and learn ing from cooperat ion among themselves Â·andÂ· from integration in the buyerrndriven global market. Major problems in the buying pract ice of the leather garm ents are the low (reject)rnquality of leather they pu rchase from the tan neries and very weak integration with their suppliers basedrnlargely on non market relationships. Due to scarcity and low quality of fini shed leather prov ided by thernsuppliers, nepotism, corruption and highly non transparent dea lings have become common busin essrnpractices between the garments and the tanneries.rnThe study recommends that the garments should have access to the purchase of higher quality leather tornenhance their competitiveness in global garm ent trade. Effective management structure to undertakernmarketing research, reduce the slow decision making process in the purchasing of leather from thernsuppliers could be introduced. However, int roduction of effective management practices at the firmsrnshould consider the small fin ancial capacity of the firms. Skill building training for the workers shouldrnalso be given due consideration in the upgrading process to enhance productivity of workers. Jointrnpurchase programs should be organi zed by concerned authorities at the Ministry of Trade and Industryrnand multilateral deve lopmental partners