How to bid: World Bank (financed projects)

Where to find notices

Avis de passation de marchés de la Banque mondiale (Current Opportunities) / World Bank procurement notices
The Bank's page linking to current opportunities, with an email alert subscription. The Bank publishes international tenders there.
Free to read. Alerts are by email subscription (alerts.worldbank.org).
Site de l'emprunteur, presse nationale ou journal officiel
The borrower must publish the specific procurement notice on its free-access website if it has one, in at least one national newspaper, or in the official gazette. National tenders are often announced only there.
STEP (outil en ligne de la Banque)
Online system the Bank and the borrower use to plan, record and track procurement steps. The secure login is for borrowers: bids are not filed in STEP, they go to the borrower.
Borrowers only.
Liste des firmes et individus inéligibles / debarred firms list
Official list of firms and individuals barred from Bank-financed contracts, plus sanctions short of debarment. The page says it refreshes every three hours.
Free to read, search by partial name.

The buying methods

RFB (Request for Bids, appel d'offres)
Single-stage competitive method, used when the borrower can specify requirements in detail. You submit a bid. Qualification criteria are pass or fail, and rated criteria may be added.[1]
RFP (Request for Proposals, demande de propositions) pour fournitures, travaux et services autres que de conseil
Normally a multi-stage method for complex needs where each bidder can offer its own solution. Evaluation uses weighted, rated criteria.[1]
RFQ (Request for Quotations, demande de cotations)
Price comparison for limited quantities of off-the-shelf goods, standard commodities or simple low-value works. It is the most accessible entry point for a small firm.[1]
Direct Selection (entente directe)
The borrower negotiates with one firm only, for example when there is only one suitable supplier or to extend an existing contract. There is no competition and no standstill period.[1]
QCBS (Quality and Cost-Based Selection, sélection qualité-coût)
For shortlisted consulting firms. The request sets a minimum technical score. Among proposals that reach it, the highest combined quality and cost score wins.[1]
QBS, FBS, LCS (autres méthodes pour cabinets)
QBS: quality only, for complex assignments. FBS: fixed budget, the best technical score within that budget wins. LCS: lowest cost among those reaching the minimum technical score, for routine assignments.[1]
CQS (Consultants' Qualifications-Based Selection)
The borrower issues a request for expressions of interest with the terms of reference, asks at least three qualified firms for their experience, picks the best qualified and invites it to submit a proposal to negotiate. Advertising is not mandatory.[1]
IC (Individual Consultants, consultants individuels)
For assignments where one person's experience matters more than a firm's structure. Selection can be open through expressions of interest, limited to invited individuals, or direct in justified cases.[1]
Procédures nationales du pays emprunteur / national procurement procedures
When the procurement plan says so, the borrower may use its own national procedures for the local market, if they respect the Bank's principles. In that case also read the country guide.[1]

Being eligible and registered

The Regulations we read do not provide for any registration with the Bank to bid. What counts: being eligible, not being on the sanctions list, and providing what the borrower's dossier asks for (trade register, tax papers and so on).

The Bank allows eligible firms and individuals from all countries to supply goods, works and services for its projects. The borrower may refuse a candidate only for reasons linked to its ability to perform or to a conflict of interest (paras 3.20 and 3.21).[1]
A state-owned enterprise of the borrower's country can compete only if it is legally and financially autonomous, operates under commercial law and is not supervised by the contracting agency (para 3.22 b).[1]
A firm or individual declared ineligible by the Bank (debarment list) cannot receive a Bank-financed contract. The borrower must check this list at least during bid evaluation (para 3.22 e and Annex II, para 11.1).[1][4]
The Bank may also disqualify a firm for two years if it failed its contractual obligations on preventing sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (para 3.33).[1]
The dossier can require a signed acceptance of the Bank's Anti-Corruption Guidelines, including its right to sanction, inspect and audit. It is mandatory in national open competitive procurement (para 5.4 c).[1]
A consultant may not submit more than one proposal, alone or as a joint-venture partner. If it does, all its proposals are disqualified (para 3.19).[1]

Finding notices

Follow the project, not just the notice: the general notice and the procurement plan announce packages months ahead. Identify the project unit in your country and ask to be on its mailing list.

For any procurement expected to be open international competition, the borrower prepares a general procurement notice before the first procedure. The Bank publishes it on its external website (para 5.22 a).[1]
The borrower publishes the specific procurement notice on its free website if available, in a national newspaper or in the official gazette (para 5.22 b).[1]
For open international tenders, the Bank also publishes the notice on its external website and the borrower, if possible, also in an international newspaper (para 5.23).[1]
For national open procurement, the advertisement must be public at national level and the procurement stays open to eligible firms from any country (para 5.4 a and b).[1]
The Bank's notices page offers an email alert subscription and a link to current opportunities.[3]
UN Development Business (UNDB) appears in older rules and in some notices, but it ceased all activity on its website on 31 March 2025: it is no longer a channel to follow. The Seventh Edition text we read refers to the Bank's external website and does not name UNDB.[1][2]
STEP is the online system the Bank and borrowers use to plan, record and track key stages of procurement. Its secure login is meant for borrowers.[5]

Preparing the bid

The bidding document always prevails. Read the qualification criteria and the security required first: they, not price, are what eliminate small firms.

For international tenders the borrower must use the Bank's Standard Procurement Documents (SPDs). For national procurement it may use its own documents, acceptable to the Bank (para 5.24).[1]
The minimum time to prepare bids is 30 business days for open international tenders, unless agreed otherwise with the Bank. Business days are the borrower's working days, excluding public holidays (para 5.36).[1]
For complex procurements the borrower may hold a pre-bid conference and should give reasonable access to sites (para 5.36).[1]
Joint ventures with local or foreign firms are allowed, with joint and several liability of all partners. The Bank does not accept a mandatory joint venture condition (para 5.38).[1]
The borrower may require a bid security. It is issued by a bank, insurer or surety in any eligible country and is generally valid four weeks beyond bid validity. In its place the borrower may ask for a bid-securing declaration, which suspends a defaulting bidder from that entity's contracts (paras 5.33 to 5.35).[1]
In an international tender for goods or works the borrower can apply a domestic preference: 15% added to the price of goods made abroad, or 7.5% added to foreign firms' prices for works in member countries below a per capita income threshold set yearly by the Bank. It must be set in the procurement plan and the dossier (paras 5.52 and 5.53).[1]
For international tenders using the SPDs (except pharmaceuticals, vaccines and commodities), rated criteria apply. Their total weight runs from 10% to 100% depending on risk and value. The 'high value' line is US$10 million (para 5.50).[1]

Submitting and bid opening

The deadline and place are in the notice and the dossier. Bids can be sent by mail, delivered in person, or filed electronically if the borrower uses an e-procurement system (paras 5.37 and 5.8).[1]
A bid received after the deadline is not considered (para 5.49). Bids are not judged at opening: the borrower does not discuss their merits or reject any bid that arrived on time (para 5.43).[1]
Opening is normally public. Each bidder's name, total price, discounts and bid security are read aloud and recorded. The record is sent to all bidders whose bids were opened (paras 5.42 to 5.48).[1]
With two envelopes (technical then financial), only the technical part is opened first. Financial envelopes of non-compliant bids are returned unopened after the contract is signed (paras 5.45 and 5.46).[1]

Evaluation

The contract goes to the 'most advantageous' bid under the dossier's method. With rated criteria, it is the substantially responsive bid with the highest rank. Without rated criteria, it is the compliant bid with the lowest evaluated cost. For consulting, it is the best evaluated proposal (paras 5.68 to 5.71).[1]
If a price looks abnormally low, the borrower asks for explanations. If it finds that the bidder has not shown it can deliver at that price, it rejects the bid (paras 5.65 to 5.67).[1]
For prior-review contracts the borrower sends the notification of intention to award only after the Bank's no-objection to the evaluation report (para 5.73).[1]

After award: standstill, debriefing, beneficial ownership

If you lose, the three business days to ask for a debriefing are short. Keep the procurement officer's contact at hand and act the same day.

After the award decision the borrower sends every bidder a notification of intention to award. At minimum it gives the winner's name, the contract price, the bidders' names and prices and, where rated criteria were used, the scores, the ranking and the reason your bid failed (paras 5.72 and 5.74).[1]
A standstill period of 10 business days runs from the date the notification is sent. The contract cannot be awarded before or during it (para 5.79).[1]
There is no standstill if only one bid was received in an open process, for direct selection, for call-offs under a framework agreement, and in Bank-recognised emergencies (para 5.80).[1]
An unsuccessful bidder has 3 business days after the notification to ask in writing for a debriefing. The borrower gives it within 5 business days. If the borrower is late, the standstill is extended to 5 business days after the debriefing. A late request is still possible but does not extend the standstill, and the debriefing is normally given within 15 business days after the contract award notice is published (paras 5.81, 5.82 and 5.84).[1]
The borrower publishes a contract award notice within 10 business days of notifying the winner. For contracts under international competition it includes the winner's beneficial ownership disclosure form (paras 5.93 and 5.94).[1]
After the award notice, a bidder who did not get a satisfactory explanation from the borrower may ask the Bank for a meeting through the Accredited Practice Manager for the country. The meeting is not to discuss competitors' bids (para 5.96).[1]

Complaining

A complaint goes in writing to the borrower, not to the Bank, and deadlines are short. The most useful complaint is the one filed before the deadline, on the terms of the dossier.

Complaints go in writing to the borrower, which must handle them promptly and fairly. They state your identity, your interest in the procurement, the reference, the current stage, the nature of the problem and the procurement rule allegedly breached (para 3.26 and Annex III, para 2.4).[1]
Deadlines to challenge the dossier terms: at least 10 business days before the submission deadline, or within 5 business days of an amendment. The borrower acknowledges within 3 business days and answers within 7 business days (Annex III, para 3.1 a).[1]
To challenge your exclusion before award: 10 business days after notice, answer within 7 business days (Annex III, para 3.1 b).[1]
To challenge the decision to award: within the standstill period. The borrower acknowledges within 3 business days and answers within 15 business days (Annex III, para 3.1 c).[1]
If a complaint is received during the standstill, the borrower cannot award until it is addressed. For prior-review contracts it also needs the Bank's confirmation of a satisfactory resolution (paras 5.91 and 5.92).[1]
If a complaint is sent only to the Bank, the Bank forwards it to the borrower within 3 business days (Annex III, Table 1).[1]
A complaint containing allegations of fraud or corruption may get special treatment decided by the borrower and the Bank (para 3.31).[1]

Traps to know about

Days are the borrower's business days. Ask the project unit in writing which holidays it applies: 3 business days for a debriefing can be less than 5 calendar days.
Do not wait for the award notice to challenge the dossier. A qualification requirement too heavy for your size must be challenged at least 10 business days before the deadline. After submission, the window for that ground has in principle closed.
A national notice and an international notice can exist for the same project. The dossier states which rules apply: if it says 'national procedures', the country's code and country guide also apply, with the Bank's requirements on top.
Beneficial ownership is requested with the award notice for international contracts. Prepare the list of people who own or control the firm, with ID papers, before you bid so a signature is not blocked.
One bidder only, a direct selection or an emergency: no standstill. A complaint then has to reach the borrower at once, with no guaranteed window.

What we could not confirm

Rather than guess, we list here what no reliable source allowed us to confirm. On these points, rely on the tender file or ask the body concerned.

The Regulations read are the Seventh Edition (September 2025). We did not establish which edition applies to projects signed earlier: the tender dossier and the financing agreement say. Paragraph numbers can differ in earlier editions.
The exact address of the current-opportunities page and the public content of STEP could not be checked beyond the Bank's notices page.
The Standard Procurement Documents themselves, the value thresholds above which the Bank requires prior review, and the borrower country's rules for national procurement are not covered here. They are in the project's procurement plan and the country guide.

Sources

Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers, Seventh Edition (September 2025) (World Bank, 2025-09)
UN Development Business Phase Down (United Nations, UN Development Business, 2025-03-31)
Procurement Notices (alerts and current opportunities) (World Bank)
Listing of Ineligible Firms and Individuals (World Bank)
Systematic Tracking of Exchanges in Procurement (STEP) (World Bank)

Bidding to: World Bank (financed projects)