We would like you to win big tenders! We will be extremely happy  if one of you wins a big tender….this is good growth. But however there is no school of winning tenders!

Noone is also going to come and teach you how to win tenders unless you bump into an article like this, chances are high you will remain in the dark.

I have been fortunate enough to review a huge number of tenders especially in foreign governments and NGOs and in this article will share what I have observed over the past years.

1. Prepare your company to win tenders from day 1
2. Register it, prepare financial statements, pay your taxes and follow good corporate practices
3. Analyse budget allocations by governments. If there is a budget allocation for dam constructions and you are an engineering company, then get prepared from the day of the budget presentations.
4. The Donor community spends hundreds of millions in Zim, do you follow their priorites and budget allocations?
5. Get your PRAZ registration early

Rule No 1: Meet Requirements

I have articulated the basic requirements above….very easy but most of you take them for granted.

Rule No 2: Align your company for tenders

Do a lot of good work, get references and document them

Do great work of neat filing and improving your brand

Buy newspapers on a constant basis and follow the tender winds

Allocate time for tenders; it can be 2% of your time

Rule No 3: Tender Task Force

Who will assist you in tender applications? Will you hire outsiders or use own team?

Do you have sufficient time for application, review and quality control and submission in time?

Common mistakes with tender applications

First stage: Not following the rules resulting in failing at the first stage (Tender references, late entries, wrong marking , no tax clearances, no bank statements, no audit reports etc)

Second stage: Quality review test, value analysis (cost benefit analysis) business models, sustainability, little innovation or considerations of trending issues.

Third Stage: References check. At the end of a long process of review, 3 finalists are short listed and references are checked. Many take this stage for granted and unfortunately pay a heavy price.

My experiences of reviewing tenders

I have concentrated on conducting financial analysis. Compliance issues-registrations, tax compliance, audit reports review, corporate governance, financial ratios analysis, business models reviews, cost benefit reviews and more financial matters reviews.

Biggest regret was disqualifying a Zimbabwean based company tendering for a multi million dollar project. They were on their way to winning but there was one small thing missing…an audit report worth US$4500! And a tender worth more than US$10 million was blown away. Accounting and audits may be a small matter but they can cost you millions of dollars.

Is there corruption in tenders?

Stories abound of corruption in tenders. People who pay brown envelopes to tender committee members and from as early as 2003, I heard of 20% kickbacks but however in the many tenders I have reviewed, everything was done above board. All processes were documented ensuring the best won.

Additional  Tips

Have a checklist of the tender-use it in tender preparation and submission. For first timers, this process is not easy as you may have to spend sleepless nights  with no guarantee of winning. For every tender you fail to win, ask for feedback on why you failed and then work on your weaknesses.

The best case study of how to win tenders is how Dr Strive Masiyiwa won the MASCOM tender in Botswana, search on his Facebook page the experiences he shared.

So prepare your company for winning the next big tender and remember its not an event but a long process. Zimbabwean companies encouraged to also look beyond the borders for tender opportunities and when you apply, make sure you partner with locals.

In New York some are relocating to smaller towns, they cannot keep up with the expensive and over crowded life in the mega city! In Harare many failed to get buses to their rural homes before the lockdown. Lets look at the informal sector; Cross borders, Kombis and Mshika Shikas, Vendors and more. These businesses have been hit the hardest. It is going to be 2 months in lockdown in 2 weeks time. Are landlords going to get rental arrears? If you relied on rent as an income, you should not rely on the income coming regularly as it used to.

On a recent BBC feature, economists in SA puts the unemployment rate at 50% up from 30%. One in two South Africans now unemployed. Its understandable why they are coming up with policies and measures to protect their territory. Our diaspora remittances expected to take a huge knock.

In USA, the last statistics I saw during the midweek showed 36.5 million unemployed and these numbers keep increasing each week.

Apologies for less benign news, lets look at the positives

1. Agriculture: Which industry was amongst the first to be allowed to operate during the lockdown? It’s Agriculture and it will remain so for the foreseeable future. I have a lot of inquiries of people interested in starting businesses….and am pointing everyone to this field. Google search the Agriculture Value Chain to appreciate the many opportunities that exist in this sector.
2. Farming land value increase: So you have land in rural areas and you have ignored it over the past years? If New Yorkers are packing their bags and leaving for smaller cities how about us? The value of real estate in urban areas is taking a hit but the value of rural land doing in the opposite direction. Urbanites likely to relocate, some diasporans too. Sabhukus will be receiving tones of inquiries from land seekers and expect them to get busy as they assess idle land. There will be irresistible offers and do not be surprised if your land is parcelled out.
3. Minerals Discoveries: We were once in this situation and we know the Almighty blesses us in times of difficulty. Who remembers the Marange Diamonds? Do not speak loudly about this but in Chihota area there is good news…diamond discoveries some time last year. If its your area find out from locals. In Mhondoro good news too….some rich gold deposits by villagers muminda chaimo. Not sure what Beta Bricks is really doing in Musana area but locals suspect mineral exploration. There are many such stories from across the country. In Mhondoro some relatives are now fighting over the gold discoveries. Mumwe akapihwa munda akati handirime ndoita zvekutown…munda uya wave ne value manje but its too late!

We will continue with discussion. The good thing is we are wired to look down upon rural land, it has little value, does not have title deeds but the value is increasing with each day of the lockdown. We covered rural opportunities in our latest book, look at chapter 8 for inspiration.

The Geography maps you studied at school were a fraud! They hid crucial opportunities information from our minds! Raise your hand if you saw Marange Diamonds on the map?

Stay Blessed

Zim Business Ideas and Network (ZBIN)