UNDP Bangladesh has a long-standing partnership with a wide range of local and international suppliers that play a critical role in delivering its programmes and projects. Over recent decades, supplier markets have changed significantly due to technological advancements, growing sustainability expectations, and increasingly complex regulatory and compliance requirements, prompting UNDP to continuously modernize its procurement systems and operational approaches.
To respond to these shifts, UNDP has strengthened its procurement policies and systems to promote efficiency, transparency, inclusiveness, and value for money. Expanding and diversifying the supplier base—particularly by engaging women-owned, diverse, and sustainability-oriented businesses—has become a strategic priority to ensure competitive, innovative, and responsible procurement practices.
Recent figures show that UNDP’s global procurement volume reached USD 2.8 billion, while UNDP Bangladesh procured USD 34 million in 2025 through 419 suppliers, including individual consultants. Although the introduction of the Quantum ERP system in 2023 significantly modernized procurement processes, supplier participation in competitive bidding has remained limited due to challenges such as registration difficulties, complex submission procedures, limited awareness of opportunities, capacity constraints, and the lack of advance payment mechanisms.
Against this backdrop, UNDP Bangladesh plans to convene a Suppliers’ Meet on 5 February 2026 as part of its broader supplier relationship management and market outreach efforts. The event is designed to address barriers to participation, clarify registration and bidding processes, explain procurement policies, and strengthen collaboration between UNDP and current and prospective suppliers.
The Suppliers’ Meet will serve as a structured platform to share information on UNDP procurement systems, gender-responsive and sustainable procurement policies, supplier codes of conduct, and compliance requirements. It will also provide an opportunity to exchange lessons learned, gather market insights, and promote long-term, trust-based partnerships grounded in transparency and mutual understanding.
The event aims to attract a broad and diverse pool of suppliers across goods, services, works, and consulting categories, with a particular focus on women-owned and underrepresented businesses that demonstrate innovation, capacity, and alignment with environmentally and socially responsible practices. By expanding supplier participation and strengthening engagement, UNDP Bangladesh seeks to enhance competition, improve procurement outcomes, and support inclusive and sustainable development objectives.
