Successful implementation of MHP projects in Ethiopia and subsequently a broader dissemination of the technology require an interdisciplinary approach. Based on the analyses of present hindrances in Ethiopia, crucial aspects are identified. Even though an adequate hydrological potential and electricity requirements are provided for at numerous sites, special attention must be directed to competing technologies, such as a diesel generator system or the connection to an existing grid, to investment and operating costs, profitability, financing instruments, financing partners, organisation forms, legal and political boundary conditions, tariff systems and paying modalities. All these relevant aspects are analysed individually and with regard to their causal interrelationships. The whole study provides the basis for the development of a decision support system. By means of a regionalisation method, regression equations are developed which facilitate the estimation of the hydrological potential at a site with lacking runoff measurements. The evaluation of existing methods to forecast electricity consumption showed that usual specific consumption figures cannot be applied without taking into account the number of households per official connection and the effect of measures which stimulate market penetration and specific consumption. For example, incentives to purchase electrical appliances are one measure to promote the consumption. Simultaneously, an appropriate tariff system must optimise temporal balancing of loads by truncating peaks and filling of load gaps. Additionally it should help to adopt the continuously growing demand function to the stepwise increase of supply capacity. Selling of capacities in kilowatt instead of energy in kilowatt hours aligns with these objectives. Since profitability of MHP systems in Ethiopia revealed to be marginal and access to loans is limited due to the required collateral, mixed financing with different project partners is recommended. Firstly, some non- or less-profit oriented equity capital donors such as customers, development banks and NGO's and secondly, venture capitalists with significant equity capital for the provision of collateral and enforcing successful management should be involved. Thirdly, banks with loan capital are required to increase the ROE for the highly profit oriented investors due to a positive leverage effect. Some of the problems incurred can be solved by the issuance of juissance rights. They facilitate the participation of customers as co-financiers and allow dividend payment in kW's or kWh's. They reduce the risk of electricity sales, and delayed payments. They accommodate access to "cheap" quasi-equity capital from customers and thus ease the access to loans. In return, they offer the advantage of reduced monthly electricity expenses to the customer who, in case of a fixed rate of dividend, receives energy units unaffected by inflation. Juissance rights do not require a stock market and are permitted within the framework of several organisational forms. Since they do not confer any ownership rights, the management control remains with the (more) liable project partners. The participating partners, their number and liability, control aspects, the type of financing and finally the total investment volume decide on the favoured organisational form. A limited partnership is useful in case of investors with different liabilities, supplemented by consumers with juissance rights. A modern co-operative requires a well funded community, independent from big investors and banks. With regard to legal requirements, the investment licence turned out to be of primary importance, but can only be acquired for projects of a fixed minimum volume. The licence facilitates access to the one-stop-shop and thus to other requirements like operating licence, working permits, registration of the business organisation and the allocation of land and water rights. In order to perspicuously illustrate the theoretical results all mentioned aspects together with the investigations on technical design, investment and operating costs are applied to two fictitious case studies of capacities of 50 and 150 kW. The analysis of prospects for international financing support with regard to the Flexible Mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol, the Global Environmental Fund and others proved that these instruments can contribute to implement either barrier removal projects or concrete MHP pilot projects. In view of the collected information, the potential and the limits of a DSS tool are reviewed. Finally conclusions and recommendations on concrete measures, such as investment incentives, redemption from customs duties and improvement of loan conditions are given.