Find New Markets with the World Bank and Co.

Tenders from development banks are a risk- and cost-optimised way for companies to gain an entrepreneurial foothold in emerging and developing countries. We can introduce you to the largest development banks.

As specialised credit institutions, development banks primarily promote economic and social development in emerging and developing countries. These banks also put projects out to tender - an interesting opportunity to enter difficult markets with controlled risk. The risk is so low because the development banks, as reliable business partners, ensure payments even if the financial processing of the contracts is done through the partner countries. In return, they have strong partners behind them because the development banks are jointly financed by their member states. A second plus point is if disagreements arise, arbitration boards of the development banks help to resolve them.

Which development banks are the best fit for your company? We can introduce you to some of the best-known:

World Bank
European Investment Bank
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Asian Development Bank
African Development Bank
Inter-American Development Bank
Caribbean Development Bank
Islamic Development Bank

World Bank

The World Bank Group is the world's largest development organisation. It was founded in 1944 together with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Like the IMF, it is a specialised agency of the United Nations. The World Bank Group consists of various institutions. However, tenders usually come from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). The main goal of all institutions is to fight poverty in the world and to promote business in developing and emerging countries. More information can be found here.

The World Bank advises governments in partner country and works with them to identify projects that are in line with the Bank's objectives. When this is the case, the experts of the World Bank accompany the funded projects from the preparation of the tender to the monitoring of the implementation and the final documentation. However, if your company is selected as a supplier or service provider in the tender, it is always the borrower country that is your contractual partner, not the World Bank itself.
All projects must promote the development of the respective country. Therefore, many different infrastructure projects are promoted in various sectors including education, energy and water supply. Other focal points are builing up a functioning financial sector and on areas of transport and health and state infrastructure, such as the development of the judiciary or public administration. In addition to the classic business projects, global issues such as climate change, refugees and pandemic control continue to move into focus.

Current calls for proposals from the World Bank can be found on its website or at the GTAI, which also offers an abstract in German.

European Investment Bank (EIB)

The Bank of the European Union (EU): Founded in 1958, the Luxembourg-based European Investment Bank (EIB) is the largest multilateral lender and the most important financier of climate change projects worldwide. "We promote the economy, employment and equal opportunities, and improve the lives of people in the EU and developing countries" is its claim. All EU Member States as well as the European Commission are represented on the EIB's Board of Directors, and its tasks and projects reflect the political objectives of the European Union. The financial resources do not come from the EU budget, but from bonds on the capital market. In addition to the Mediterranean region, the regional focus is on the so-called ACP Countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. More information about the EIB can be found here.

Economic policy through lending: the EIB is designed to help develop Europe's internal market as 90 per cent of loans are made within the EU. It also aims to support the EU's development and cooperation policy towards partner countries, ensuring, for example, that development cooperation agreements are also implemented financially. All projects must meet high technical, environmental and social standards. If this is the case, loans are the most common financing model, but mixed financing, guarantees, sureties are also possible.
It is mandatory that all EIB projects outside the EU are published in the Official Journal of the European Union. There, you will find tenders for material and services. For example, projects may include contracts for explosive ordnance disposal in Serbia, for bridge rehabilitation in Montenegro or for IT equipment in Tunisian schools. In recent years, there has been a focus on the energy sector - for example, the EIB has lent €13.5 billion a year for energy infrastructure projects.

Large loans of more than 25 million euros are made directly by the European Investment Bank. Loans of less than 25 million euros are financed through credit lines opened by the EIB for financial institutions - which thus provide the funds for the loan.

You can find current calls for tenders from the EIB on its internet portal and from the GTAI if you enter EIB in the search field.

At the EIB you will also find a guide that summarises the most important information on the procurement procedure.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was founded in 1991 to support the development of market economies in Central and Eastern Europe. Its aim is to foster the transition to open market economies in Eastern and Central Europe and to promote private and entrepreneurial initiative. Further information on the EBRD can be found here.

The focus of the tenders is on material and services for structural and sector-specific project support, in refugee aid, infrastructure projects such as the New Silk Road or water supply in Bosnia and Herzegovina, for example.

Current EBRD tenders can be found on its internet portal and at GTAI , which also provides an abstract in German.

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is Asia's regional development finance institution. Its goals are poverty reduction, sustainable economic development, promotion of the private sector and sustainable environmental standards. More information can be found here.

The ADB promotes social and economic projects that improve the living conditions of people in the region. The ultimate goal is less poverty. To achieve this, the bank wants to promote broad-based sustainable growth. It focuses particularly on the infrastructure sector.
Calls for tenders cover material and services in various areas such as improving living conditions for people with disabilities, children and women in need. Infrastructure projects can include a drinking water supply in Papua New Guinea or an energy project in Nepal.

Current ADB calls for proposals can be found on the ADB's website or at the GTAI, which also offers an abstract in German.

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More Seminars with the ADB:

Business Opportunities in Asia: Water and Climate

African Development Bank (AfDB)

The African Development Bank (AfDB), founded as Africa's regional development finance institution, is part of the banking group of the same name with the African Development Fund and the Nigeria Special Fund. The overarching goal is to improve living conditions in Africa. To this end, the AfDB promotes projects to develop economic and social progress and to reduce poverty. More information on the AfDB is available here.

The AfDB promotes projects with loans that enable sustainable development opportunities on the ground. The AfDB's overarching goal is to improve governance in African countries and achieve further development of infrastructure and the private sector.
The AfDB invites tenders for a wide range of material and services across all sectors, from expert reports and consultancy services to complete construction projects. For example, the tenders cover the operation of a hydropower plant in Uganda, consulting for a health project to raise HIV awareness in Tanzania, and consulting, accounting and finance for a road construction programme in Guinea. Current AfDB tenders can be found online on its portal or at the GTAI , which also offers an abstract in German.

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)

The primary goals of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) are poverty reduction, the promotion of social justice and regional integration in Latin America and the Caribbean. More information is available here.

The IDB is the most important multilateral financing institution for development projects in the Latin America and Caribbean region. The IDB's priority areas are climate and energy, water and sanitation, infrastructure, education and private sector development. In 2004, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) concluded a partnership agreement with the bank to specifically promote climate protection and renewable energies or energy efficiency in the region.
Every year, the IDB's implementing organisations award 20,000 to 30,000 contracts to companies - from relatively small sums to millions. This also offers interesting business opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Special tender guidelines apply to IDB-funded projects. In its guidelines, the IDB distinguishes between goods and works and consulting and services. There are specific procedural guidelines for the respective areas; the tendering procedure depends in each case on the characteristics of the procurement and the contract value.

Current IDB tenders can be found on its website or at the GTAI, which also offers an abstract in German.

Caribbean Development Bank (CDB)

As a regional financial institution, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) promotes the transport and communication infrastructure as well as the economic and social development of the region. In doing so, it pays attention to the special economic needs of the Caribbean countries. The goal is long-term industrialisation, with a focus on improved energy efficiency and supply. More information on the CDB is available here.

The improvement of water supply and sanitation in Belize, new street lighting for Saint Lucia and reconstruction aid after storm damage in Dominica - these are three example projects that the Bank supports. The CDB invites tenders for the provision of goods and services in areas such as finance, education, transport, water and sanitation, infrastructure, energy, agriculture and politics.

Current tenders of the CDB can be found on its online portal or at the GTAI , which also offers an abstract in German.

Islamic Development Bank (IsDB)

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) focuses its support on low-income Arab states. There, infrastructure, social policy and financing possibilities are to be improved in compliance with Islamic law. Outside the Arab region, the bank supports Islamic educational institutions.

The IsDB provides interest-free loans for projects with sustainable development goals. These loans are primarily intended to provide import financing. They also support projects that strengthen the knowledge of local professionals and provide business partners in the regions of Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia.