Trade in Services- COMESA

The European Commission, through INTPA, is inviting tenders for a contract focused on Technical Assistance services to support the COMESA secretariat. This initiative seeks to enhance the liberalization of services in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the ultimate aim of increasing the region's competitiveness, driving sustainable economic growth, attracting investments, creating jobs, and benefiting consumers. The estimated value of the tender is €8,200,000, and the contract's duration is set for a maximum of 48 months.

Eligible applicants include economic operators such as consulting firms, research institutions, and organizations with expertise in trade and development, although the scale of the contract may favor larger firms. The procedure is designated as restricted, indicating that interested parties must first submit a request to participate. Only shortlisted candidates will be invited to submit a full proposal, and submissions must occur electronically via the eSubmission system. The final deadline for requests to participate is June 26, 2025, at 16:00 Africa/Lusaka time.

The contract evaluation will be based on a best price-quality ratio, with a weighting of 80% for quality and 20% for cost. The calls for tenders are associated with the CPV code 73000000, which encompasses research and development services and related consultancy. Although specific countries within Sub-Saharan Africa are not listed, the initiative focuses on the COMESA member states, which include 19 countries from the region.

For participation, applicants must possess a Personal Identification Code, which is mandatory whether they are applying as sole bidders or as part of a consortium. The eSubmission system supports multiple languages and includes technical provisions for document upload limitations, such as a maximum file size of 50 MB per attachment and a limit of 200 files.

The procurement aims to foster a conducive environment for trade in services within Sub-Saharan Africa by backing the COMESA secretariat’s initiatives. Interested entities are encouraged to prepare their submissions in accordance with the established guidelines to leverage this opportunity for contributing to the region's development through enhanced service sector competitiveness.

The European Commission, INTPA - International Partnerships, is launching a call for tenders EC-INTPA/LUN/2025/EA-RP/0070 for Technical Assistance services to support the COMESA secretariat. This intervention aims to contribute to the liberalization of services, increase Sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSA) competitiveness, boost sustainable economic growth, attract investment, create decent jobs, and benefit consumers. The procedure type is restricted. The estimated total value of the tender is 8,200,000 EUR. The TED publication date is 02/06/2025. The main classification (CPV) is 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services. The nature of the contract is for services. The maximum contract duration is 48 months. The award method is based on the best price-quality ratio. No framework agreement is mentioned. The place(s) of delivery or performance is 31085111 - Sub-Saharan Africa. The programme(s) involved is 44995760 - Sub-Saharan Africa. The deadline for receipt of requests to participate is 26/06/2025 at 16:00 Africa/Lusaka time. Submissions must be sent exclusively via electronic submission.

Two documents are available for download: ENACT-61215-Trade in Services-TORs- COMESA Component Invitation to submit a request to participate, published on 02/06/2025, Version 1, with no translations available, and ENACT-61215-a5f additional information contract notice en TA to Trade in SERVICES Invitation to submit a request to participate, published on 02/06/2025, Version 1, with no translations available.

The eSubmission system supports the latest versions of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. For technical recommendations, refer to the System Requirements link. The system is multilingual and supports all 24 official EU languages. The character set encoding is UTF-8. The system encrypts all uploaded documents using an asymmetric key. The supported file types depend on the submission type and are specified in the system requirements. Draft submissions can be viewed, edited, and deleted until the deadline.

For uploading files, eSubmission accepts files less than 50 MB. The maximum number of documents allowed per tender is 200. Attachments must be named following the System Requirements. A Personal Identification Code (PIC) is mandatory for participation as a sole candidate/tenderer or as a member of a group. A PIC is unique and its validity is not limited in time.

If the system is slow, clear the cache and cookies on the internet browser. The content of the submission is not accessible after the deadline, as the system encrypts all attachments upon upload. Submissions can be found in ‘My Submission(s)’ in Manage My Area in the Funding & Tenders portal.

This call for tenders focuses on procuring technical assistance to support the COMESA secretariat in liberalizing services within Sub-Saharan Africa. The goal is to enhance the region's competitiveness, foster economic growth, attract investments, generate employment opportunities, and provide benefits to consumers. The European Commission is seeking qualified organizations to provide these technical assistance services, with a total estimated budget of 8,200,000 EUR. The contract will last for a maximum of 48 months, and the selection will be based on the best price-quality ratio. Interested parties must submit their requests to participate electronically by the specified deadline. The eSubmission system has specific technical requirements, including browser compatibility, file size limits, and naming conventions for attachments. A PIC is mandatory for participation.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated in the provided text. However, given the nature of the call for tenders which is to procure Technical Assistance services, it can be inferred that eligible applicants could include consulting firms, research institutions, and other organizations with expertise in trade, economics, and development in Sub-Saharan Africa. The requirement for a PIC (Personal Identification Code) suggests that the applicants must be registered organizations.

Funding Type: The funding type is procurement. The procedure is to procure Technical Assistance services. The nature of the contract is services.

Consortium Requirement: The text mentions that a PIC is mandatory to participate in a call for tenders as a sole candidate/tenderer or as a member of a group (consortium). This indicates that both single applicants and consortia are eligible to apply.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility for this opportunity is focused on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The intervention aims to increase Sub-Saharan Africa’s competitiveness.

Target Sector: The target sector is trade in services, with a focus on liberalization of services to increase competitiveness, boost sustainable economic growth, attract investment, create decent jobs, and benefit consumers in Sub-Saharan Africa. It also touches upon research and development services and related consultancy services, as indicated by the CPV code 73000000.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but the focus is on the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region. The COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) secretariat is involved, suggesting that COMESA member states are relevant.

Project Stage: The project stage is implementation. The call is to procure Technical Assistance services to support an existing intervention by the COMESA secretariat.

Funding Amount: The estimated total value of the procurement is 8,200,000 EUR.

Application Type: The application type is an open call for tenders, with electronic submission. The procedure type is a restricted procedure. There is an invitation to submit a request to participate.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in exchange for providing technical assistance services.

Application Stages: The procedure type is "Restricted procedure", which typically involves at least two stages: a request to participate and a full proposal submission for those who are shortlisted. Therefore, there are at least 2 stages.

Success Rates: The success rates are not mentioned in the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement: The co-funding requirement is not mentioned in the provided text.

Summary: This opportunity is a call for tenders by the European Commission, INTPA - International Partnerships, to procure Technical Assistance services. The aim is to support the COMESA secretariat in delivering an intervention focused on the liberalization of trade in services within Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The goal is to enhance the region's competitiveness, foster sustainable economic growth, attract investment, create jobs, and improve consumer benefits. The estimated total value of the contract is 8,200,000 EUR, and the maximum contract duration is 48 months. The procedure is a restricted procedure, meaning that applicants must first submit a request to participate, and only shortlisted candidates will be invited to submit a full proposal. Submissions must be electronic. The deadline for receipt of requests to participate is 26/06/2025 at 16:00 Africa/Lusaka time. The call is open to both individual organizations and consortia. A Personal Identification Code (PIC) is mandatory for participation. The award method will be based on the best price-quality ratio. The selected service provider will be expected to deliver services within Sub-Saharan Africa. The call is related to research and development services and related consultancy services. The eSubmission system supports multiple languages and encrypts uploaded documents. The maximum file size for attachments is 50 MB, and a maximum of 200 files can be uploaded per tender.