Project

Fostering gender-responsive public procurement: understanding the barriers and solutions to include women-led businesses in East Africa

Ethiopia
Kenya
Rwanda
Tanzania
Uganda
Project ID
109650
Total Funding
CAD 583,700.00
Project Status
Active
End Date
Duration
24 months

Programs and partnerships

Partnership(s)
Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women – East Africa

Lead institution(s)

Uganda
More content related to this institution

Summary

Government procurement is the biggest public market in the world, with many governments spending roughly 15% of GDP on goods, works, and services annually. It is at the front line of the wider governmental response to the COVID-19 pandemic.Read more

Government procurement is the biggest public market in the world, with many governments spending roughly 15% of GDP on goods, works, and services annually. It is at the front line of the wider governmental response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Used strategically, public procurement can contribute significantly to building a more resilient and sustainable economy and society. As such, it can be a game-changer in tackling labour market segregation and gender gaps in employment if public procurement policies and practices actively seek the inclusion of women-led businesses.

In East Africa, some governments have enacted preferential procurement practices to address the low participation of women-led businesses by setting up enterprise funds and putting quota systems in place. While the experiences and policy innovations vary across countries, a common assessment is that these measures are not working as anticipated and that additional measures are needed, particularly in light of the added challenges brought on by the pandemic. However, there is limited evidence on the pathways through which government procurement programs can provide entry for women into sectors where they are underrepresented.

This project aims to fill this evidence gap and foster evidence-based reforms in procurement policies and practices across five East African countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda) to enhance the extent and quality of women’s participation. It will examine the barriers women-led businesses face in accessing public procurement opportunities, the effectiveness of emerging practices to improve participation of women-led businesses, and the policy reforms and program design modifications needed to improve the current situation.

It is supported under the Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women (GrOW) East Africa initiative, jointly funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and IDRC. GrOW East Africa seeks to spur transformative change to advance gender equality in the world of work.
 


Research outputs

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Brief
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Summary

Public procurement has the potential to empower women economically, but gender disparities persist in Rwanda’s public procurement landscape. While remarkable progress has been made in women’s political representation, this equality has not equally extended to public procurement. Recent amendments to the Public Procurement Act signal a positive shift towards addressing these disparities.

Author(s)
Komujjurizi, Charity
Brief
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Language:

English

Summary

According to recent research by Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC) in partnership with Open Contracting (OCP) and the Institute for Social Accountability (TISA), Tanzania’s preferential procurement initiative falls short, notable in terms of its impact on women-led businesses. This policy brief cites low registration rates, insufficient contract allocation, a lack of data, and non-compliance by procurement entities as significant problems contributing to the scheme’s poor performance and makes a couple of recommendations.

Author(s)
Maria, Gaaba Lakel
Study
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Language:

English

Summary

This report discusses the issue of women and women-led businesses (WLBs) being under-served in their ability to access public procurement contracts in Africa, despite the large amount of government spending on procurement each year. The report synthesizes research conducted in five African countries, focusing on WOBs and their ability to compete, win, and manage public procurement bids, as well as the challenges they face in doing so.

Author(s)
Africa Freedom of Information Center (AFIC)
Study
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Language:

English

Summary

Government procurement programmes provide a large untapped opportunity to increase women’s representation in non-traditional business sectors and tap latent potential of women engaging in government. The study in five different Eastern Africa counties aimed at identifying factors that keep women from accessing government procurement opportunities and measures instituted to overcome the barriers.

Author(s)
African Freedom of Information Center (AFIC)
Study
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Language:

English

Summary

In Tanzania, several efforts have been made to ensure public procurement is inclusive and offers opportunities to various groups. To underscore some of these efforts as well as overall practices and policies that exclude or include women and women-led businesses in the Tanzania public procurement ecosystem, this study was commissioned by the Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC).

Author(s)
Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC)
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About the partnership

Partnership(s)

Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women – East Africa

Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women (GrOW) – East Africa spurs transformative change to advance gender equality in the world of work, with a focus on gender segregation, unpaid care, and women’s collective agency.
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