Win More African Infrastructure Contracts With Automated Tender Monitoring

Africa’s infrastructure investment needs are staggering. The African Development Bank estimates the continent requires $130–170 billion annually in infrastructure spending, but current investment falls far short—leaving a financing gap that ranges from $68 to $108 billion per year. This gap is projected to widen to $100–160 billion annually by 2030 as population growth (Africa is expected to reach 2.5 billion people by 2050) and climate adaptation costs ($10–20 billion per year) compound demand.

Despite the gap, funded infrastructure procurement is enormous. According to the AfDB Annual Report 2024, the Bank hit a record $11 billion in new investment approvals in 2024, with infrastructure representing the largest sectoral allocation. World Bank IDA allocated $22.4 billion to Africa in the fiscal year ending June 2025—representing 66% of total IDA commitments. Bilateral donors, development finance institutions, and sovereign budgets add tens of billions more.

For construction firms, engineering consultancies, and infrastructure contractors, this pipeline translates into thousands of active tenders at any given time—road construction, power plant development, port expansion, water treatment, and urban transit projects across 54 countries. The challenge is not a lack of procurement opportunities but the fragmentation of how they are published: across AfDB procurement pages, World Bank project portals, national e-procurement systems, and TED for EU-co-funded projects.

Transport infrastructure dominates Africa’s procurement pipeline. Several mega-projects are in active procurement or construction phases, generating tenders for civil works, engineering design, project management, and equipment supply.

Road corridors: The Abidjan–Lagos transnational coastal motorway—a 1,028-kilometre highway connecting Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria—has attracted $15.6 billion in investment interest, with construction scheduled to commence in 2026. The Trans-African Highway network, championed by the African Union and AfDB, continues to drive procurement for trunk road construction, rehabilitation, and bridge building across the continent.

Rail projects: Tanzania’s Central Corridor Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), backed by a $1.2 billion AfDB-led financing syndication, is under construction across five phases linking Dar es Salaam to Lake Victoria. Passenger service between Dar es Salaam and Dodoma launched in July 2024. The Lobito Corridor railway—an 830-kilometre greenfield line connecting Angola to Zambia’s copper belt—broke ground in early 2026 with a $1 billion investment. Egypt’s 2,000-kilometre high-speed rail system, awarded to Siemens Mobility, is Africa’s first high-speed network. Morocco’s Kenitra–Marrakech high-speed rail extension (430 km, 53 billion MAD) began procurement in 2025.

Port expansion: Namibia’s Walvis Bay port is undergoing a $300 million capacity-doubling project. Ghana’s Tema Port Phase 2 expansion ($1.3 billion) reached 98% completion in 2025, boosting container capacity to 3.7 million TEUs. These projects generate procurement for dredging, terminal construction, cargo-handling equipment, and logistics systems.

Each of these programmes publishes tenders through a mix of international competitive bidding (ICB), national competitive bidding (NCB), and direct contracting—often across multiple portals simultaneously.

Energy procurement across Africa spans renewables, thermal generation, transmission, and distribution—all sectors with active tender pipelines.

South Africa — REIPPPP: The Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) is Africa’s most established renewable energy procurement framework. Bid Window 7 appointed preferred bidders for 1,760 MW of solar PV and approved 932 MW of onshore wind. Bid Window 3 of the Battery Energy Storage IPP Programme (BESIPPPP) announced registered bidders for 33 storage projects in late 2024. To date, 123 projects totalling 6,200 MW have been awarded under REIPPPP, representing roughly 5% of South Africa’s energy supply.

Kenya — geothermal: Kenya is the world’s seventh-largest producer of geothermal energy. KenGen’s Olkaria I expansion (63 MW) is targeting commissioning by June 2026, while the newly approved Olkaria VII project (80.3 MW, co-funded by Japan and the European Investment Bank) targets completion by 2027. KenGen plans 42 new geothermal wells over five years, all procured through open competitive bidding.

Ethiopia — hydropower: The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), inaugurated in September 2025, is Africa’s largest hydroelectric facility at 5,150 MW—more than doubling Ethiopia’s generation capacity. Surplus power will be exported to Kenya, Sudan, and Djibouti, driving transmission infrastructure procurement across the region.

Nigeria — oil, gas, and power: The approval of 28 new Field Development Plans backed by $18.2 billion in capital commitments is expected to add 600,000 barrels of oil and 2 billion cubic feet of gas per day. The Nigeria–Morocco Gas Pipeline has completed feasibility studies with a Final Investment Decision expected by end of 2025.

Renewable energy tenders across the continent—solar, wind, mini-grid, and battery storage—are growing rapidly as countries pursue Paris Agreement commitments and rural electrification targets.

Water and sanitation infrastructure is a priority for both the AfDB and World Bank, with procurement spanning large-scale water treatment plants, distribution networks, sewerage systems, and urban drainage.

The AfDB’s water and sanitation portfolio has provided access to drinking water and sanitation for 96.2 million people over the past decade. In 2024 alone, AfDB-funded initiatives reached nearly 5 million people with drinking water access. The African Water Facility launched the Africa Urban Sanitation Investment Initiative (AUSII) in 2024, aiming to mobilise $320 million over ten years for 50 sanitation projects serving 15 million urban residents.

The World Bank’s IDA water and sanitation lending to Africa supports projects ranging from rural borehole programmes to major urban water supply rehabilitation. These projects generate procurement for pipeline construction, pump stations, treatment plant design and build, SCADA systems, and water utility management contracts.

Urban development procurement is accelerating as Africa’s cities grow. Appels d’offres (tenders) for bus rapid transit, urban road construction, storm drainage, solid waste management, and affordable housing are published regularly on national procurement portals across francophone and anglophone Africa. Many of these tenders are published only on national portals—not on AfDB or World Bank sites—making multi-source monitoring essential for full coverage.

The African Development Bank is one of the largest funders of infrastructure projects on the continent. Understanding how AfDB procurement works is essential for firms pursuing African infrastructure tenders.

AfDB-funded projects use standardised procurement methods defined in the Bank’s Procurement Policy for Bank Group-Funded Operations. The two primary methods are International Competitive Bidding (ICB) for large contracts and National Competitive Bidding (NCB) for smaller contracts where international competition is not required. ICB tenders are open to firms from any AfDB member country, while NCB follows the borrowing country’s national procurement laws.

Bidding notices for AfDB-funded projects are published on the AfDB’s procurement portal and on the borrower’s national procurement platform. For ICB contracts, notices are also published in international media. The AfDB publishes General Procurement Notices (GPNs) when a project is approved, followed by Specific Procurement Notices (SPNs) for individual contracts as they come to tender.

Key contract types include works (civil construction, rehabilitation), goods (equipment, vehicles, materials), consulting services (feasibility studies, design, supervision), and non-consulting services (surveys, drilling, testing). For a detailed breakdown of AfDB procurement methods and how to navigate them, see our AfDB procurement guide.

Jorpex monitors AfDB procurement notices alongside other international development sources, so you receive alerts for AfDB-funded tenders in the same stream as World Bank, bilateral, and nationally funded opportunities—without checking multiple portals.

The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) is the single largest source of concessional financing for African infrastructure. In the fiscal year ending June 2025, IDA committed $22.4 billion to Africa—representing 66% of all IDA commitments globally. The record $100 billion IDA21 replenishment (covering July 2025–June 2028) ensures sustained funding for the next three years.

World Bank infrastructure projects in Africa follow the Bank’s procurement framework, which mirrors AfDB procedures: ICB for large contracts, NCB for smaller ones, and Selection Based on Consultants’ Qualifications (SBCQ) or Quality and Cost-Based Selection (QCBS) for consulting services. Procurement notices are published on the World Bank’s project procurement page and the borrower’s national portal.

The World Bank’s stated goal of providing electricity access to 300 million people in Africa by 2030 is driving a major pipeline of energy infrastructure procurement—solar plants, mini-grids, transmission lines, and distribution network upgrades. Transport, water, and digital connectivity projects round out the IDA Africa portfolio.

For infrastructure contractors, World Bank projects offer several advantages: transparent procurement procedures, dispute resolution mechanisms, predictable payment terms (funded by IDA credits), and eligibility open to firms from all World Bank member countries. These features reduce the commercial risk that can accompany nationally funded projects in some African markets.

Jorpex captures World Bank procurement notices as part of its international development source coverage, alongside AfDB, EU-funded (TED), and bilateral donor-funded projects.

Africa’s infrastructure procurement landscape varies significantly by country. Here is a snapshot of the major sectors and opportunities in key markets.

South Africa: Energy dominates procurement through the REIPPPP, BESIPPPP, and gas IPP programmes. Transport infrastructure tenders cover road construction, Gautrain expansion, and port development. South Africa’s established e-procurement systems and transparent bidding processes make it one of Africa’s most accessible markets for international firms. See our South Africa tender guide.

Kenya: Geothermal energy (Olkaria complex), road construction (funded by World Bank and AfDB), and urban transit (Nairobi Expressway, BRT) drive procurement. KenGen’s $1.8 billion geothermal expansion programme alone generates significant civil works, drilling, and equipment tenders. See our Kenya tender guide.

Nigeria: Oil and gas infrastructure ($18.2 billion in new Field Development Plans), road construction (Abuja–Kano road, Lagos–Ibadan Expressway), and the ₦1.75 trillion NDDC budget for Niger Delta infrastructure define the procurement landscape. Nigeria also has one of Africa’s largest housing deficits, driving urban construction tenders. See our Nigeria tender guide.

Ghana: Mining infrastructure (access roads, processing facilities), the $1.3 billion Tema Port expansion, and the government’s $10 billion “Big Push” infrastructure programme generate tenders across civil works, roads, and urban development.

Ethiopia: Hydropower (GERD and the planned 2,160 MW Koysha Dam), the Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway corridor, and industrial park construction create a diverse procurement pipeline.

Tanzania: The multi-phase Standard Gauge Railway ($3.9 billion+), Tanga–Musoma rail expansion (1,028 km), and cross-border railway to Burundi ($2.15 billion) make Tanzania one of Africa’s most active rail procurement markets.

Morocco: The Kenitra–Marrakech high-speed rail (53 billion MAD), airport modernisation across seven cities, and the 2030 World Cup infrastructure programme are driving billions in procurement across transport and urban infrastructure.

Jorpex provides the largest aggregation of African infrastructure tenders available in a single platform, covering AfDB procurement notices, World Bank project tenders, EU-funded projects published on TED, and national procurement portals across Africa’s key markets.

Unlike specialist African tender databases that charge $200–500+ per month and often cover only a handful of sources, Jorpex starts at $49/month with no per-user fees. This makes professional-grade tender monitoring accessible to mid-sized contractors and consultancies—not just the largest firms with dedicated business development teams.

Set up a notification profile with your infrastructure keywords (e.g., “road construction,” “solar power plant,” “water treatment,” “bridge rehabilitation”), target regions (East Africa, West Africa, Southern Africa, or specific countries), and contract-value ranges appropriate for your firm. Jorpex’s AI matching engine scores each tender against your profile and delivers relevant opportunities to your Slack channel or email inbox within minutes of publication.

Push delivery means your team receives tenders the moment they are published—no daily portal checking, no missed deadlines. For ICB tenders where submission windows can be as short as 45 days, early awareness is the difference between a competitive bid and a missed opportunity.

Combine infrastructure monitoring with Jorpex’s disqualifier keywords to filter out irrelevant sectors. If your firm builds roads but not hospitals, exclude “healthcare” and “medical equipment” to keep your alert stream focused. With Jorpex Pro, create separate profiles for different markets or sectors—one for East African energy projects, another for West African transport solicitations—each routing to a dedicated Slack channel.