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. Public procurement is no longer seen as just a means of acquiring goods and services, it’s becoming a strategic tool for driving economic growth, fostering innovation, and ensuring socially inclusive development across the continent.

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 Uganda, we are working with the Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC) and other partners to increase the participation of women businesses in public contracting through advocacy, capacity building, data use, and improved partnerships.

We are also leading conversations on enhancing public procurement and integrity across East Africa. Most recently, we were at the UNODC regional conference to fast-track the implementation of the UN Convention Against Corruption among member states in East Africa in Nairobi and facilitated the conversation on public procurement integrity. You can review the outcomes and resolutions adopted on public procurement including publishing open contracting data and information on debarment and beneficial owners, accelerating digitization, and enabling civil society participation.

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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