jibouti is set to move all public procurement procedures online, as the government steps up efforts to make public contracting more transparent and open to young entrepreneurs and small businesses.
Interim Prime Minister Ali Hassan Bahdon announced the plan on 21 October 2026 while opening the national colloquium on public procurement, organized by the Secretariat General of the Government, which chairs the National Public Procurement Commission (CNMP).
The colloquium brought together ministers, the Governor of the Central Bank, the President of the Chamber of Commerce, and representatives of the private sector, banks and civil society.
Under the reforms, the government will launch an official bulletin announcing public tenders, an open data portal giving the public access to procurement information, closer monitoring of purchases below tender thresholds, and an annual public report on the use of public resources.
Bahdon described public procurement as a lever for development, warning that poorly planned tenders delay services to citizens, non-competitive tenders raise costs for the state and opaque processes erode public trust.
"There is no development without trust, and no trust without transparency," he said.
The government also plans to make public contracts more accessible to local firms, through dividing contracts into lots, adapting requirements to the capacity of small businesses, supporting first-time bidders and shortening payment delays. A new draft decree on bank guarantees will be reviewed soon.
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"Djibouti's youth must find its full place in the economy of their country," Bahdon said, adding that public procurement should become a genuine springboard for national entrepreneurship.
The reforms build on progress already recorded. The average time to award a contract fell from 35 days in 2021 to 26 days in 2023, while more than 71% of public contracts in 2024 went to Djiboutian companies.
A dispute settlement committee is now operational, and bidders must hold a general certificate confirming that they meet their tax and social obligations. Looking ahead, the reforms form part of a National Public Procurement Strategy to 2030, under the country's Vision Djibouti 2035 development plan.
"Public procurement is the mirror of the state," Bahdon said.
