Who is buying and which rules apply

Before you read the criteria in a notice, ask one question: where does the money come from, and which rules come with it? The answer decides almost everything: who may respond, the form of the bid security, the language of the bid, the portal to use, and whom to complain to if things go wrong. There are four families of buyer, and a minute is usually enough to recognise yours.

Family 1: national public buyers

These are ministries, local authorities, public institutions and, depending on the country, some state-owned companies. They buy with public budget money, under the country's public procurement code.

How to recognise them. The notice mentions an "autorité contractante" (contracting authority), a "personne responsable des marchés" (procurement officer) or a "maître d'ouvrage" (project owner). It refers to a national budget, a budget year or a procurement code. No foreign funder is named.

What it changes for you. The rules are your country's, and they are public. Administrative documents, thresholds and appeal time limits are in your country rulebook. A committee of the buyer evaluates the bids, and a regulatory body can hear disputes.

• ARCOP, Autorité de Régulation de la Commande Publique

  Independent authority attached to the General Secretariat of the Presidency. It regulates the award and execution of contracts, publishes decisions and opinions of its committee, keeps the red list of excluded firms, runs the APPEL platform and trains stakeholders. Address: rue Alpha Hachamiyou Tall x Kléber, Dakar; tel. +221 33 889 11 60.[14][13]

• Comité de Règlement des Différends (CRD) de l'ARCOP

  Rules on bidders' appeals against an award procedure and can sanction faulty bidders in disciplinary formation. Decisions are final and immediately enforceable. Its decisions and opinions are published on ARCOP's site.[1][14]

• DCMP, Direction centrale des marchés publics

  Control body acting in advance, within the Ministry of Finance and Budget. It gives opinions on tender dossiers, evaluation reports and contracts above the control thresholds, authorises direct agreements, registers contracts before notification and publishes procurement plans. Its silence within the deadline set by ARCOP counts as a favourable opinion.[1][5][4]

• Commissions des marchés et cellules de passation des marchés

  In each contracting authority, the contract commission opens bids, evaluates them and proposes the award. The procurement unit reviews files that fall below the DCMP's thresholds and files quarterly reports.[1][5]

• Personne responsable du marché

  The authorised representative of the contracting authority: runs the procedure and signs the contract; a contract signed by an unauthorised person is void. It answers prior appeals (3 clear working days) and requests for reasons for rejection (5 working days).[1]

• Plateforme APPEL (Achat Public en Procédures Électroniques) et portail des achats publics

  ARCOP's platform: suppliers browse procurement plans and tenders without an account, then, with an account validated by the administrator, express interest, ask questions, submit bids online and receive the opening report.[15][14]

• Commission de contrôle des marchés « Secret-Défense »

  Created in April 2026 at the Presidency: reviews classification requests, validates procurement plans and reviews draft classified contracts. Authorisation is issued within 15 days according to ARCOP.[11][12]

• Chambre de discipline financière de la Cour des comptes

  Can be seized against public officials who split expenditure, favour a bidder or award a contract without authorisation (art. 148).[1]

Family 2: projects paid for by a development funder

A development bank or donor funds a project, and a local unit buys for it: a project management unit, a coordination cell, sometimes a ministry. The buyer is local, but the rules are generally the funder's.

How to recognise them. Look for the words "financement", "prêt", "crédit" or "don" (funding, loan, credit, grant) followed by the name of an institution. One sentence comes up often: the government has received a loan or credit from such a bank and intends to apply part of it to payments under this contract. The project's name also appears in the notice.

What it changes for you. The file follows the funder's template, and its vocabulary can be surprising. Eligibility conditions may differ from the national code, and the funder often keeps its own list of debarred firms. Expect clauses on fraud and corruption that let it inspect your accounts too. Each organisation's page sets out its rules:

• United Nations (UN and its agencies)How to register on UNGM, find a UN notice, tell RFQ, ITB and RFP apart, know where each agency (ILO, UNDP, UNICEF, FAO, UNOPS, IOM, WFP, WHO, UNHCR, Secretariat) actually receives bids, and challenge a decision.
• World Bank (financed projects)How to bid on a World Bank-financed project: who buys, where notices appear, the methods (RFB, RFQ, RFP, QCBS), eligibility, the standstill period and how to complain.
• African Development Bank (AfDB)What to know before bidding on an AfDB-financed project: who buys, the 2015 procurement framework, member-country eligibility and where to follow notices.
• Global Fund (HIV, TB, malaria)Selling health products financed by the Global Fund: who buys (the country's Principal Recipient), the three purchasing routes, quality standards, the absence of domestic preference and what it means for a local firm.
• European Union (external action)How to bid on an EU-financed contract outside the Union: direct or partner-country management, nationality and origin rules, the Funding & Tenders portal, thresholds and remedies.
• French Development Agency (AFD)How to bid on an AFD-financed tender: the project owner buys, the AFD Procurement Guidelines set the rules, no nationality condition, integrity declaration, publication on dgMarket.
• Islamic Development Bank (IsDB)How to bid on a project financed by the Islamic Development Bank: procurement guidelines, notices, member-country eligibility, the standstill period and complaints.
• Regional institutions (BCEAO, BOAD, BEAC, BDEAC, UEMOA, ECOWAS)How to sell to the BCEAO, BOAD, BEAC and the ECOWAS Commission, or bid on a BOAD-financed contract: their own rules, notices, BOAD thresholds, deadlines and remedies, and what we could not establish for the BDEAC and UEMOA.
• Private companies, mining companies and NGOsSelling to a private company, a mining company or an NGO: there is no procurement code, the rule is the buyer's own, except when the money comes from a funder that imposes its rules, and how to get paid when an invoice is unpaid.

Family 3: United Nations agencies and other international bodies

United Nations agencies, regional organisations and other international bodies buy for themselves, with their own rules and their own systems. They are not bound by the procurement code of the country they work in.

How to recognise them. The buyer is named directly, with no ministry or project unit. The document is often called an RFQ, ITB or RFP. Submission goes through a supplier portal or a dedicated e-mail address, and registering in advance is common.

What it changes for you. There are fewer national administrative documents, but formal requirements are strict. Time limits are sometimes short, and the deadline may be given in another time zone. The national regulator normally has no hold over these purchases: a complaint goes through the body's own channels. Start with the United Nations page.

Family 4: private companies and NGOs

A mining company, a bank, a telecoms operator or an NGO buys according to its own policy. No public procurement code normally applies.

How to recognise them. The buyer is a company or an association. The notice speaks of a "consultation", a "demande de prix" (request for prices) or a call for applications, and often points to an e-mail address.

What it changes for you. There are fewer formalities, but fewer safeguards too. The buyer can negotiate, change its mind or never reply, and there is generally no public session and no appeal period. So the contract you sign is your main protection, and an NGO spending a funder's money must sometimes follow a procedure that funder imposes. See Companies and NGOs.

The four families side by side

	National public	Funder-financed project	UN and international bodies	Companies and NGOs
Who decides	The committee and contracting authority, with the national reviews provided for	The project unit, often with the funder's agreement	The body itself	The company or NGO
Which rules	The national code	The funder's, with national law for what the file leaves to it	The body's own	Internal purchasing policy, sometimes a funder's
Where to complain	The buyer, then the national appeals body, then the courts	The buyer, then the channels named in the file and by the funder	The body's channels, to check in its document	The buyer, then commercial law if a contract exists
Where the bid goes	To the buyer's address in the file, or the national portal if there is one	To the project unit, or the funder's portal	To the body's portal or address	To the address given in the consultation

The one-minute test

1. 1

   Read who signs the notice

   A ministry or a town council? A project unit? An international agency? A company?

2. 2

   Look for the source of funding

   It is often in the first lines. A funder's name puts you in family 2, even if a ministry signs the notice.

3. 3

   If the notice is silent, open the file

   The instructions to bidders state the rules that apply. If you still have doubts, ask the buyer in writing.

4. 4

   Go and read the right page

   Your country rulebook for family 1, the organisation's page for families 2, 3 and 4.

Where notices appear in your country

Channels depend partly on the family of buyer: national notices have their official outlets, while funders and international agencies also publish on their own sites. Where you read a notice does not change its rules.

• Portail des achats publics et plateforme APPEL

  Official portal where contracting authorities publish procurement plans and tenders, and where bids can be submitted online. ARCOP is training authorities in APPEL so they register their 2027 procurement plans there: the roll-out is under way, so some buyers still publish elsewhere.

  Browsing needs no account. A supplier account, validated by the administrator, is needed to express interest, ask questions and submit a bid. The manual mentions no fees.

• Site de l'ARCOP : décisions, avis, textes, liste rouge

  Legal texts (code, orders, compilations), CRD decisions from 2023 to 2026, opinions, standard tender documents, the APPEL user manual for suppliers, and the red list.

  Open access, no account.

• Presse à grande diffusion et affichage

  General notices and public tender notices are published in a widely circulated newspaper and on the official portal (art. 56). For small communes (initial budget under 300 million F CFA), notices for works under 50 million and supplies under 25 million are posted at the town hall, the prefecture or sub-prefecture and the trades chamber; time limits run from posting at the sub-prefecture.

What next

Once you know the family, look at the type of procedure, which says who can respond and what to hand in, then read the file.