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The Inter-American Development Bank’s investments have been consistent throughout the years, averaging $13 billion annually in loans and guarantees over the past five years, according to its latest annual report.
IDB’s project cycle works very similarly to other multilateral development banks. Within loans and grant projects, contract awards are one of the best ways to track who implements them.
From January 2019 to July 2021, the total awards amounted to $5.3 billion, covering more than 12,500 public contracts, according to publicly available data. The vast majority of these contracts were for consulting services, although the bank spent more overall on goods and works.
But who is winning IDB’s consulting gigs? Devex took a look at the data.
From 2019 up to the first half of 2021, IDB published 9,964 consulting services contracts worth $895 million. Although individual consultants got the biggest share of awards by number, their contract value only accounted for 18% of the total, or $162 million. The biggest chunk went to firms, which received 76% of the total contracts value, or $677 million. The remaining 6% went to consortiums.
Except for consortiums, local suppliers were preferred over their international counterparts; over two-thirds of the total consulting contract value was awarded locally. Contractors from Latin America and the Caribbean received the largest portion of the consulting contract spend, with awardees from Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia leading the list with $278 million for 1,875 contracts.
Outside of Latin America, Italian contractors led the pack, receiving $46 million. The rest of the awardees came mostly from Western Europe and North America, with eight other contractors from China, Israel, Japan, and South Korea.
By sector, government-related contracts such as reform and modernization were the priority for individual and firm awards, while consortiums primarily focused on transportation. More than half of the consulting contracts by value, or $461 million, went to projects in five countries: Haiti, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, and Honduras.
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IDB’s top 10 consulting firms by total value of contracts collectively received $118 million for 23 contracts. The list excludes two multilateral agencies that were among the top contractors — the World Food Programme and the Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos.
1. Ayesa and Ayesa Mexico
Headquarters: Seville, Spain, and Mexico City, Mexico
Total number of consulting contracts: 1
Total value of contracts: $26.5 million
Ayesa and its Mexican subsidiary won a $26.5 million design and architectural engineering consulting contract for a water and sanitation program in the districts of Arraijan and La Chorrera in Panama.
2. VENG SA
Headquarters: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Total number of consulting contracts: 5
Total value of contracts: $16.3 million
Under the Satellite Technology Development Program, or PROSAT II, project, which aimed to strengthen public policies for managing disaster risk, and enhance productivity and satellite monitoring in Argentina, VENG SA, a technological development company, won five contracts worth $16.2 million for the design, construction, and operation of SAOCOM 1B Satellite.
3. Choco Solar
Headquarters: Bogotá, Colombia
Total number of consulting contracts: 1
Total value of contracts: $12.4 million
Choco Solar won a $12.4 million contract in 2020 as part of the water and sanitation project for the implementation of the Mocoa Sewer Master Plan’s stage one in Colombia. The company implements environmental and renewable energy solutions.
4. Bureau de Nutrition et Développement
Headquarters: Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Total number of consulting contracts: 1
Total value of contracts: $12.3 million
BND, a Haitian NGO, won a $12.3 million contract under the $60 million Safety Nets for Vulnerable People Affected by Coronavirus Project in Haiti. Apart from IDB, BND has also partnered with other multilateral organizations such as U.S. Agency for International Development, the World Bank, European Union, and United Nations agencies.
5. Viva Rio
Headquarters: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Total number of consulting contracts: 2
Total value of contracts: $10.7 million
Viva Rio, an NGO focused on peace and social development, was awarded two contracts worth $10.7 million under the Temporary Social Safety Net and Skills for Youth Project in Haiti, which started in 2018.
6. BANHPROVI
Headquarters: Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Total number of consulting contracts: 2
Total value of contracts: $9.9 million
As a Honduran bank focused on socioeconomic and environmental development, the two contracts awarded to BANHPROVI aimed to support institutional strengthening. In 2020, IDB also approved a $20 million loan — considered a project rather than a contract — to help the bank support micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises affected by the pandemic.
7. Ernst & Young Jamaica
Headquarters: Kingston, Jamaica
Total number of consulting contracts: 4
Total value of contracts: $8.5 million
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EY Jamaica won four contracts for local accounting and auditing services. Other EY offices in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, The Netherlands, and Panama also won $3.6 million for 32 IDB contracts that ranged from accounting and auditing to institutional strengthening and technical assistance.
8. CrimsonLogic Panama
Headquarters: Clayton, Panama
Total number of consulting contracts: 2
Total value of contracts: $7.7 million
CrimsonLogic, which provides digital solutions to governments, won two contracts under the Strengthening of the Single Electronic Window for Trade and Business Facilitation Project in Trinidad and Tobago.
9. DataTorque Bahamas
Headquarters: Bahamas
Total number of consulting contracts: 1
Total value of contracts: $7.7 million
DataTorque Bahamas’ only contract was for training and technology transfer in Belize. With headquarters in New Zealand and offices across the globe, the tech company focuses on providing solutions for efficient tax collections and management.
10. Planservi Engenharia
Headquarters: São Paulo, Brazil
Total number of consulting contracts: 2
Total value of contracts: $5.4 million
Planservi is an engineering company that specializes in the transportation sector. It won two contracts in Brazil — a $3.6 million contract for architectural, engineering, and industrial design and a $1.8 million contract for environmental studies.