How to Apply for Government Tenders in Uganda

Uganda is an East African country that has many great business potential in various sectors. One of the areas that should be of interest to entrepreneurs and SMEs in Uganda is public procurement. In this article, we will show you how to trade with the government in Uganda by applying for tenders and contracts.

The Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) is the body in charge of public procurements and public assets disposal in Uganda. The body plays the following roles:

• It promotes fair, transparent and competitive public procurement practices and standards
• Ensures disposing and procuring firms are compliant
• Promotes procurement and disposal capacity

How to Apply for Government Tenders in Uganda

The government of Uganda introduced electronic procurement to ease the tendering process. It has made it easy for providers to submit proposals for tenders and contracts.

To apply for tenders and contracts with the public bodies in Uganda, you must first register your business on PPDA. Once you register, your business name will be listed in the Register of Providers (RoP). Before you can start the registration process, make sure you have prepared the following documents and details.

• The business sector under which your business is operating
• Your business name and addresses
• VAT or business registration number or business identification number
• Your business details in terms of the number of employees and their biodata
• Your business experience and expertise in your sector

You need to sign up with an email address and create a password for your account. You can sign up as a provider here. To register your business on PPDA, you must pay a fee. The fees charged depend on your business category. You must also provide the following documents.

• Business trading license or certificate of compliance
• Certificate of registration or incorporation

Benefits of Registering Your Business on Register of Providers

• Your business will be eligible to participate in tenders by government entities
• RoP provides data bank from where Procuring and Disposing Entities (PDEs) makes a shortlist of firms to trade with
• Gives your business access to bid for government opportunities
• Your business becomes visible to PDEs when it is listed on RoP

 Tender Listing Sites in Uganda

• Government Procurement Portal
• Tenders Info
• Africa Gateway
• Tender Soko
• J360
• Global Tenders
• Online  Tenders
• New Vision

What You Need to Know About Procurement Process in Uganda

The following are some details you need to be aware of in the procurement process in Uganda.

Invitation to Bid. The procuring or disposing entity must invite providers to bid. It shall be carried out following the regulation requirements. The procurement rule and regulations are provided for in PPDA regulations of 2006.

Pre-bid. Some bidding documents may call pre-bid meetings to provide more details. The motive of the pre-bid meeting is to explain the technical parts of the solicitation documents. The aim is to get and consider the concerns of the bidders and improve the soliciting documents.

Submitting a bid. The other thing is to submit a bid. Make sure that you have attached all documents and submitted the required number of copies. Also, make sure to fill in all forms if there are any.

Bid receipt. The entity will receive all bids from all providers. The PPDA sets up enough facilities to ensure that all bids sent are received.

Bid opening. The other step is to open all bids received regardless of the means through which they were submitted. It can be through emails or hand in delivery.

Evaluation. The evaluation of the bids submitted is carried out following PPDA Regulations of 2014 and local Government PPDA regulations of 2006.

Contract management. In other cases, there may be a need for contractual requirements for pre-shipment inspections. Such contracts need to be managed with the proper shipment verification firms.

Final Thoughts on How to Apply for Government Tenders in Uganda

Ugandan government spend millions of Ugandan shillings every year for tenders given to businesses to supply goods and services. If you are a business person in the country, you should look into applying for government tenders to improve the financial status of your company.