(Ecofin Agency) - Ivorian SMEs are supported by incentives designed to boost their share of public contracts. During the first half of the year, they secured 71.1% of the contracts, though their share in total value has decreased.

The number of public procurement awarded to SMEs in Côte d'Ivoire significantly increased during the first half of 2024, according to the final communiqué of the latest Council of Ministers.

The government reported that the share of public contracts awarded to SMEs rose from 65.5% to 71.1% year-on-year over the period. This increase occurred despite a decline in the overall number of public contracts. Indeed, by the end of June 2024, 1,829 contracts had been approved, compared to 2,074 at the same time in 2023, reflecting an 11.8% drop.

In Côte d'Ivoire, SMEs benefit from several government measures designed to boost their access to public contracts and increase their share. These include reserving 30% of public contracts for SMEs, lowering the required bid bond rates, waiving tax and social compliance requirements during the bidding process, and implementing simplified procedures to make participation more accessible for SMEs.

Despite the increase in the number of contracts awarded to SMEs, their share by value has significantly declined. According to the government, the value of contracts awarded to SMEs fell from 61.7% in June 2023 to 28.7% by June 2024, a sharp drop of 33 points. This contrasts with the overall value of public contracts, which grew from $874 million in June 2023 to $1.2 billion in the first half of 2024.

The government attributes this drop to the approval of large contracts, often awarded to big companies, for major infrastructure projects, especially in the road and energy sectors. Due to their smaller size and limited capacity, SMEs generally handle smaller projects, while larger contracts, in terms of value, go to big firms.

However, SMEs can still take part in larger projects through subcontracting, where big companies subcontract portions of their contracts to smaller firms. The government, though, did not specify what proportion of these large projects is subcontracted to SMEs.