Webinar: How to work with the African Development Bank

JOHANNESBURG/ABIDJAN — While the African Development Bank undergoes a structural reorganization, lending trends have shifted over the past decade. They are now guided by the priorities outlined in the bank’s “High 5” agenda framework and include an influx of private firms and local contractors based in member countries. Last week, Devex held a webinar on how to work with the AfDB, providing detailed information on the types of contracts awarded, funding trends by sector and region, and an overview of the procurement cycle — including information on where to find early stage information and recent updates to procurement policies. We’ve organized the questions and answers into sections based on their topic below. If we missed any, or if more questions arise, let us know in the comments section. How to find data about AfDB opportunities and procurement 1. Is data on successful AfDB bidders available? You can find data on AfDB contract awards on the bank’s website, as well as in the Contract Awards section of Devex’s funding data. You’ll find contract awards, which name the winning firm and the size of their bid, as well as shortlists detailing the other bidders and some of the details of their bids. If you’re interested in analyzing the data from the webinar, you can visit this visualization. The tab entitled “Do your own analysis” allows you to filter AfDB awards data by year, project country, sector, and country of origin of the winning contractor. 2. How and where does the AfDB advertise opportunities for consultants and consultancies? Once an opportunity for consulting services opens with the AfDB, it is released as an “Expression of Interest” — the first stage in a two-step consulting services procurement process. EOI’s indicate the terms of reference of an opportunity, and request that consultants or consultancies indicate their interest. The bank will create a shortlist of qualified bidders from the group that expressed interest that will then produce competing bids for the opportunity. Devex captures these EOIs in real time and includes them in our funding opportunity database. You can find them by visiting the Funding Search page of our website, searching for “AFDB” under funder, checking the “Tenders & Grants” box, and choosing the Opportunity Category “Services.” Or you can visit this link, with those search terms pre-entered. 3. Are there terms and conditions that “flow down” from the AfDB to govern the contract between the contractor and the borrowing entity? Yes, but it’s worth noting that the bank’s flexible, case-by-case approach means that the degree to which the bank’s procurement policies apply to an individual opportunity will vary. The general terms of AfDB’s procurement policy for goods and works contracts can be found here, while the policy for consulting services contracts can be found here. Also, be sure to review the updates to procurement policies made in 2015, and in force since 2016. Rules and procurement for AfDB opportunities 1. When bidding for AfDB-funded opportunities, what are the rules on local currencies? Generally speaking, the currency stated in the terms of the AfDB financing agreement with the borrowing entity is the currency in which disbursements to the entity and to contractors will be made. Article IV of the General Conditions Applicable to Loan, Guarantee, and Grant Agreements of the AfDB and African Development Fund gives more detail on this principle, and also outlines the conditions under which other currencies might be used. 2. Can staff or consultants on bids be from non-member countries of the AfDB? Yes, so long as the staff — or individual consultants — are employed by a consulting firm that is based in one of the member countries of the bank. To make sure that your firm or team members are not excluded from eligibility for factors other than national origin, we recommend you read Section 5 of the AfDB’s Procurement Policy for Bank-Funded Operations, as well as Section 1.11 of the AfDB’s Rules and Procedures for Use of Consultants. Eligibility can change from opportunity to opportunity — requirements that differ from the standard will be stated in the bidding documents. 3. Can firms from the United States bid on African Development Fund projects? Or may they bid on other opportunities if they partner with a local African firm? The United States is a nonregional member country of the AfDB. Thus Americans can bid for anything that the AfDB group funds. However, as discussed in the webinar, contractors are more likely to be successful if they work with local firms. Aside from the local knowledge and business networks these partners bring, recent updates to the AfDB’s procurement policies indicate that national procurement systems will increasingly be utilized to facilitate procurement for AfDB-funded opportunities. In addition, policies related to development of the borrowing country’s industry, knowledge transfer, local content etc. have been broadened, opening the door for borrowers to push for greater inclusion of local firms in the market for AfDB-funded opportunities. 4. What is the prescribed format for an expression of interest? There does not appear to be a standard format, although the AfDB does have standard bidding documents. However, the format and requirements of each opportunity may vary from these standards. It may also be useful to check the bank’s Instructions to Consultants in Appendix 2 of the Rules and Procedures for Use of Consultants, which details what a borrower must include in its instructions to you, the consultant. 5. When consulting services bids are being evaluated, what is the split in “weight” for the bid’s price and its technical aspects? The general criteria and weights of those criteria for evaluating consulting services proposals can be found in Section 2 of the AfDB’s Rules and Procedures for Use of Consultants. On a high level, the technical criteria and weights are: • Consultants’ specific experience: Scored 0-10 points • Methodology: Scored 20-50 points • Key personnel: Scored 30-60 points • Transfer of knowledge: Scored 0-10 points • Participation by nationals: Scored 0-10 points The borrowing entity can break these criteria into subcriteria if they wish. After technical evaluation has been completed and approved by the bank, the evaluators will consider the financial proposals of each bidder. The lowest price proposal is given a score of 100, and other proposals are given a financial score inversely proportional to their own price. These scores are added to the technical scores, and a winner is determined. 6. What is the fiscal cycle of the AfDB? Is there a time of year when more opportunities generally appear? The AfDB fiscal year runs through Dec.31 each year. There does not appear to be any kind of cyclicity to the release of AfDB opportunities — neither in the value of contracts offered, nor in the number of contracts offered at certain times of the year. According to our funding page, the AfDB currently has 26 open opportunities, and an additional 37 forecast to go live later this month/quarter. Future funding at the African Development Bank What is the AfDB’s appetite for promoting impact investment funds and other private sources of finance? The answer is still developing. What we can tell you is that the AfDB appears to be taking proactive steps to engage the private sector — including impact investment funds. In the last year, we’ve seen a number of private sector funding decisions made by the bank. In the last month, the AfDB invested $62 million in Equator Capital Partners — a US-domiciled impact investment firm. It also invested $30 million in the Off-Grid Energy Access Fund, as well as $10 million in the Africa Local Currency Bond Fund. These are two funds that invest in debt — one for energy projects in Africa, the other in local African corporate bond issuers. Stay tuned as we will definitely be following this question. Find the full recording of our webinar “How to Work with the African Development Bank” below: Devex delivers cutting-edge insights and analysis to the leaders shaping and innovating the business of development. Make sure you don't miss out. Become a Devex Executive Member today.