Who is buying and which rules apply (Niger)

Before you read the criteria in a notice, ask one question: where does the money come from, and which rules come with it? The answer decides almost everything: who may respond, the form of the bid security, the language of the bid, the portal to use, and whom to complain to if things go wrong. There are four families of buyer, and a minute is usually enough to recognise yours.

Family 1: national public buyers

These are ministries, local authorities, public institutions and, depending on the country, some state-owned companies. They buy with public budget money, under the country's public procurement code.

How to recognise them. The notice mentions an "autorité contractante" (contracting authority), a "personne responsable des marchés" (procurement officer) or a "maître d'ouvrage" (project owner). It refers to a national budget, a budget year or a procurement code. No foreign funder is named.

What it changes for you. The rules are your country's, and they are public. Administrative documents, thresholds and appeal time limits are in your country rulebook. A committee of the buyer evaluates the bids, and a regulatory body can hear disputes.

ARCOP, Autorité de Régulation de la Commande Publique
Regulates the system: audits, opinions, standard documents, dispute settlement, sanctions and publication of information (weekly bulletin, procurement plans). Also issues the certificate of non-exclusion from public procurement. Based in Niamey (PO Box 725, tel. +227 20 72 35 00).[14][5][13]
Comité de Règlement des Différends (CRD)
Rules on appeals by unsuccessful bidders against the tender dossier, the award, publication conditions or refusal of approval. Three members of the national regulation council (administration, private sector, civil society). Its decision binds the contracting authority.[1][15]
Direction générale du contrôle des marchés publics et des opérations budgétaires (DGCMP/OB)
The Finance Ministry body that checks files in advance: it gives the compliance opinion on the tender dossier, the award report and approvals for exceptional procedures, and registers contracts. Its silence for 7 working days counts as a favourable opinion for a tender.[1][4][18]
Portail des marchés publics du Niger (marchespublics.ne)
Portal carrying procurement plans, tenders, award notices and lists of direct agreements. It also carries circulars from 2022 and 2023 and an October 2025 notice on the resumption of the weekly bulletin.[16]
Commission d'ouverture des plis et d'attribution du marché, comité d'experts indépendant
Opens bids in public session, then evaluates and ranks them with the help of the independent expert committee. It signs the opening report.[1][11]
Personne responsable du marché et Directions des marchés publics des ministères
The contracting authority is represented by a principal responsible person who delegates the procedure to deputy responsible persons. Each ministry has a public procurement and service delegation directorate (2013 decree).[1][12]
Comité ad hoc et organes de contrôle des marchés de défense et de sécurité
Binding opinion before any defence or security purchase under a confidential regime; control before and after the award by the Prime Minister's office.[1][7]
Conseil d'État
Hears appeals against CRD decisions, with no suspensive effect.[1]
Direction générale des impôts (DGI)
The contractor has the contract registered there. No advance or invoice is paid until the contract is registered and the regulation fee is paid.[1][3]

Family 2: projects paid for by a development funder

A development bank or donor funds a project, and a local unit buys for it: a project management unit, a coordination cell, sometimes a ministry. The buyer is local, but the rules are generally the funder's.

How to recognise them. Look for the words "financement", "prêt", "crédit" or "don" (funding, loan, credit, grant) followed by the name of an institution. One sentence comes up often: the government has received a loan or credit from such a bank and intends to apply part of it to payments under this contract. The project's name also appears in the notice.

What it changes for you. The file follows the funder's template, and its vocabulary can be surprising. Eligibility conditions may differ from the national code, and the funder often keeps its own list of debarred firms. Expect clauses on fraud and corruption that let it inspect your accounts too. Each organisation's page sets out its rules:

Family 3: United Nations agencies and other international bodies

United Nations agencies, regional organisations and other international bodies buy for themselves, with their own rules and their own systems. They are not bound by the procurement code of the country they work in.

How to recognise them. The buyer is named directly, with no ministry or project unit. The document is often called an RFQ, ITB or RFP. Submission goes through a supplier portal or a dedicated e-mail address, and registering in advance is common.

What it changes for you. There are fewer national administrative documents, but formal requirements are strict. Time limits are sometimes short, and the deadline may be given in another time zone. The national regulator normally has no hold over these purchases: a complaint goes through the body's own channels. Start with the United Nations page.

Family 4: private companies and NGOs

A mining company, a bank, a telecoms operator or an NGO buys according to its own policy. No public procurement code normally applies.

How to recognise them. The buyer is a company or an association. The notice speaks of a "consultation", a "demande de prix" (request for prices) or a call for applications, and often points to an e-mail address.

What it changes for you. There are fewer formalities, but fewer safeguards too. The buyer can negotiate, change its mind or never reply, and there is generally no public session and no appeal period. So the contract you sign is your main protection, and an NGO spending a funder's money must sometimes follow a procedure that funder imposes. See Companies and NGOs.

The four families side by side

	National public	Funder-financed project	UN and international bodies	Companies and NGOs
Who decides	The committee and contracting authority, with the national reviews provided for	The project unit, often with the funder's agreement	The body itself	The company or NGO
Which rules	The national code	The funder's, with national law for what the file leaves to it	The body's own	Internal purchasing policy, sometimes a funder's
Where to complain	The buyer, then the national appeals body, then the courts	The buyer, then the channels named in the file and by the funder	The body's channels, to check in its document	The buyer, then commercial law if a contract exists
Where the bid goes	To the buyer's address in the file, or the national portal if there is one	To the project unit, or the funder's portal	To the body's portal or address	To the address given in the consultation

The one-minute test

Read who signs the notice
A ministry or a town council? A project unit? An international agency? A company?
Look for the source of funding
It is often in the first lines. A funder's name puts you in family 2, even if a ministry signs the notice.
If the notice is silent, open the file
The instructions to bidders state the rules that apply. If you still have doubts, ask the buyer in writing.
Go and read the right page
Your country rulebook for family 1, the organisation's page for families 2, 3 and 4.

Where notices appear in your country

Channels depend partly on the family of buyer: national notices have their official outlets, while funders and international agencies also publish on their own sites. Where you read a notice does not change its rules.

Portail des marchés publics et des délégations de service public du Niger (marchespublics.ne)
Official portal with procurement plans, tenders, provisional and final award notices, disputes and direct-agreement contracts. Its home page claims more than 25,000 notices. It also publishes useful circulars (for example the one explaining order no. 0021) and a memo on SIGMAP-Niger, the electronic procurement management information system (June 2022).
The home page can be browsed without an account; it also offers login and registration, the use of which was not checked.
Site de l'ARCOP : avis d'appels d'offres, plans de passation, ententes directes
The 'Commande publique' section of the regulator's site, with notices, annual procurement plans and the list of direct-agreement contracts. At the time of checking, the notices page showed only three notices, all issued by ARCOP itself; notices from other buyers appear in the HCOP bulletin.
Open access, no account.
Hebdomadaire de la Commande Publique (HCOP)
ARCOP's weekly bulletin in PDF. Issue 552 (26 to 31 October 2026) contains calls for tenders (including one from the Global Fund), procurement plans and CRD decisions. It is the most regular source for following notices.
Free download, no account.
Presse nationale et revue spécialisée
Every open tender, prequalification notice and DRP must be published in identical terms in a widely circulated national or international newspaper, a specialised procurement magazine and possibly a specialised site (art. 86). Without publication the procedure is void.
SIGMAP et Journal des marchés publics
The deadlines order names SIGMAP and the Journal of Public Procurement as media for publishing the annual plan. A 2026 opinion piece describes SIGMAP as still being rolled out. No separate SIGMAP address could be confirmed.

What next

Once you know the family, look at the type of procedure, which says who can respond and what to hand in, then read the file.

Who is buying and which rules apply