Open contracting is gaining momentum across Africa as many national and subnational governments and civil society stakeholders seek solutions to ongoing challenges through public procurement reforms.

Procurement systems are still often manual, institutions weak and data is spotty. Many governments are now digitizing their entire procurement process by implementing electronic government procurement (e-GP) systems with the hope of transforming procurement to be more efficient, fair, and accountable. Our new guidance provides 8 lessons for this process.

Our other priorities for the continent are helping reformers make procurement more inclusive and accessible to marginalized groups, promoting gender-responsive procurement, and supporting sustainable development.

Our Lift impact accelerator project in Ekiti State, Nigeria, provided an opportunity to build a process to understand and include women businesses in public procurement. In East Africa, we are working with the Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC) and other partners to identify barriers and solutions for women businesses to participate in public procurement. In West Africa, we are working with UN Women on the same issue.

More than 50 countries and cities, from Argentina to Zambia, are pursuing open contracting reforms. It takes hard work, political will, technical skills, and sustained engagement. Explore stories from around the continent that show how open contracting is changing lives — from value for money to value for many.

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