Over 100 Congolese companies are now better equipped to compete for procurement opportunities with the African Development Bank (AfDB), following an information and awareness seminar held in Brazzaville on 24 September 2025. The event comes as part of preparations for the Bank’s Annual Meetings scheduled for May 2026 in Brazzaville.
The seminar, led by the AfDB’s Liaison Office in Congo, aimed to familiarise local businesses with the Bank’s procurement and contract management procedures while expanding its pool of qualified suppliers. It also served as a platform to gather feedback from Congolese stakeholders to help refine and adapt the Bank’s procedures to the country context.
“The main objective of the seminar is to raise awareness among companies operating in the Republic of Congo about the Bank’s rules and procedures. This will help prepare them for contract opportunities with the Bank in the context of the Annual Meetings and beyond,” said Olivier Beguy, Country Economist, speaking on behalf of the Bank’s Director-General for Central Africa, Léandre Bassolé.
The need for such training is clear: in 2024, the Bank’s institutional procurement volume reached around $103 million, yet Congolese companies captured just 0.09 percent of that amount.
In his opening remarks, Ludovic Ngatsé, Congo’s Minister of Economy, Planning and Regional Integration, and AfDB Governor for the country, stressed the importance of enabling local businesses to benefit: “The Bank’s projects and programmes represent considerable contract volumes, and our ambition is for Congolese companies to secure a significant share of them.”
Following the seminar, more than 100 Congolese companies from diverse sectors were added to the AfDB’s supplier database, a critical step before procurement contracts for the upcoming Annual Meetings are opened.
According to Marcelle Akposso, Head of the Bank’s Institutional Procurement Division, the session successfully identified a pool of more than 105 companies with proven expertise. “The quality of the companies represented reinforces our belief that we will have competent suppliers for our next Annual Meetings, where their services will be in high demand,” she noted.
The African Development Bank has been active in the Republic of Congo since 1972, financing projects worth $1.27 billion. As of 30 June 2025, its active portfolio in the country includes nine sovereign operations across various sectors, valued at approximately $223.3 million.
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