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, ex-ANRMP)

  Hears appeals against award decisions, conciliates performance disputes, sanctions firms at fault, keeps the red list of excluded firms and issues the quitus de non-redevance required to bid. It collects the regulation fee paid by winners.[9][8][7][15]

• DGMP (Direction générale des marchés publics)

  The procurement control body: validates tender documents and award proposals above the validation thresholds, authorises derogatory procedures (direct award, restricted tender), publishes the BOMP and runs the SIGOMAP platform.[10][11][1][15]

• Ministre chargé des marchés publics

  Authorises derogatory procedures (restricted tender, direct award), approves contracts of central government, national public bodies and projects from 300 million F CFA, and may waive guarantees by order.[1][2]

• Autorité contractante et cellule de passation des marchés

  The public buyer. Its procurement cell prepares the tender documents and procurement plan and runs the procedure. It receives the preliminary appeal, the first step if you disagree with a decision.[1]

• COJO (Commission d'ouverture des plis et de jugement des offres)

  Opens bids in public session, judges them with the help of a three-member evaluation committee and names the winner. Its make-up depends on the type of buyer. For the simplified PSL and PSO procedures, a lighter commission (COPE) plays this role.[1][3]

• Comité de recours et sanctions (CRS) de l'ARCOP

  Six members. Rules on disputes between a buyer and a firm during the award and sanctions bidders and winners. Its decisions are enforceable and can be challenged before the Conseil d'État.[7]

• BOMP (Bulletin officiel des marchés publics)

  The mandatory legal medium for tender notices, procurement plans and results. An open tender not published there is void.[1][15][10][12][13]

• SIGOMAP (Système intégré de gestion des opérations de marchés publics)

  The DGMP's e-procurement platform: company registration, access to notices and tender files and, for buyers that use it, online bid submission and bid opening.[10][15][16]

• CELIOPE (Cellule d'information des opérateurs économiques)

  Attached to the Directorate General of Budget and Finance. Informs firms and guides those that are not paid. Two online tools go with it: e-requête (Q&A) and e-fournisseur (invoice tracking).[15]

• Caisse des dépôts et consignations de Côte d'Ivoire

  Receives cash deposits and the deposit of bank cheques lodged as guarantees.[4]

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.

• Bulletin officiel des marchés publics (BOMP)

  Tender notices, procurement plans and results. Publication there is mandatory.

  Paid. The DGMP's Magazine page shows the covers, each with a BUY (ACHETER) link to the MonKiosk store: 4,000 F CFA per issue to read digitally, checked on no. 1898 on 2 November 2026. I found no issue there to read for free. The DGMP FAQ (undated page) also mentions sale at its office at the same price, and subscriptions.

• SIGOMAP

  E-procurement platform: notices, tender documents and, with buyers that use it, online bid submission and opening.

  Prior registration required. You provide the ID of the company head, the ID of the representative and an employer authorisation for the account. Support: sigomap@marchespublics.gouv.ci, +225 27 22 55 88 88.

• Site de la DGMP: avis d'appel d'offres, plans de passation, résultats, marchés de gré à gré autorisés

  Notices, procurement plans, results, the list of authorised direct awards, the list of approved banks for guarantees, standard documents and procedure guides.

  Free.

• Site de l'ARCOP: quitus de non-redevance, liste rouge, décisions, dénonciation

  Online request for the quitus de non-redevance, list of sanctioned firms, appeal decisions, reporting of irregularities, hotline 800 00 100.

  Free to browse. The quitus is requested online or by filing at ARCOP's mail desk.

• Sites des acheteurs et affichage dans leurs locaux

  Buyers may also post their notices on their premises and in the press authorised for legal notices, but this does not replace publication in the BOMP.

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.