How to bid: French Development Agency (AFD)

Where to find notices

afd.dgMarket (avis des projets financés par l'AFD)
Tenders, expressions of interest and prequalification notices for AFD-financed projects abroad are published on afd.dgmarket.com. Browsing the list is free and can be filtered by keyword (region, sector, contract type). Registering lets you receive email alerts.
Free to browse. Alerts on registration.
Plateformes et presse du pays du maître d'ouvrage
For national tenders, the notice is published on electronic platforms and appropriate national newspapers. The AFD must be able to verify the advertising really took place.

The buying methods

AOI (Appel d'Offres International)
Required, unless the AFD expressly agrees otherwise, above EUR 5,000,000 excluding taxes for works and equipment and EUR 200,000 for supplies, services and intellectual services. Also required when too few firms in the country are qualified. Notice at least on afd.dgmarket.com, minimum deadlines, bid in French, English or Spanish.[1]
AON (Appel d'Offres National)
Used when an AOI is not needed because a sufficient, competitive and qualified local supply exists. The country's rules can replace some AOI rules, but an AON cannot exclude foreign candidates. Deadlines can be shorter.[1]
Demande de Cotations
For standard low-value contracts, if the country's law allows: under EUR 300,000 for works and equipment, under EUR 200,000 for supplies, services and intellectual services. The project owner picks a shortlist of three to six. For works, supplies and services the cheapest compliant quotation wins.[1]
Gré à Gré (contrat de gré à gré)
Departure from competition, requiring the AFD's prior agreement, conformity with the country's law and either a compelling emergency or a single provider for technical or exclusive-rights reasons. Below EUR 40,000 excluding taxes, some of these conditions are lightened.[1]
AMI et Demande de Propositions (prestations intellectuelles)
For consulting and studies: a call for expressions of interest builds a shortlist of four to six consultants based on similar experience and qualifications, with no nationality criterion. The request for proposals follows. Quality generally takes precedence over cost, with weights around 80% technical and 20% financial.[1]

Being eligible

There is no registration with the AFD. What matters: not being in an exclusion case, having your declarations in order, and signing the integrity declaration in the dossier.

AFD financing has been fully untied since 1 January 2002. It covers all contracts, regardless of the nationality of the winner, its suppliers or subcontractors, or the origin of equipment and supplies, except for an international embargo. Specific rules may come from co-financing or financing delegated by a third party, and must then appear in the tender documents (Guidelines, article 1.3.1).[1][2]
A person cannot win an AFD-financed contract if it, or a consortium member, subcontractor, manager, employee or agent: is bankrupt, in liquidation or similar; has had a final sanction or conviction in the last five years for prohibited practices, an offence linked to a contract, a criminal organisation, terrorism, child labour or human trafficking; has had a contract terminated at its sole fault in the last five years; is debarred by a multilateral development bank that signed the 9 April 2010 mutual recognition agreement; has not paid taxes or social contributions; or has produced false documents (article 1.3.2).[1]
Persons targeted by individual or sectoral sanctions adopted by the UN, the European Union, France or any jurisdiction recognised for the scale of its cross-border enforcement and whose sanctions may affect the contract are also excluded (articles 1.3.2 and 1.3.4). This extension to any recognised jurisdiction comes from the September 2026 version.[1]
The project owner must require a signed integrity, eligibility and environmental and social responsibility declaration (model in annex 1) from every candidate, bidder and consultant, from prequalification, the call for expressions of interest, the tender notice, the request for proposals or quotations, or the direct award. The winner's declaration becomes part of the contract. Failing to provide it or breaching it can lead to AFD measures (article 3.1.1).[1]
Registration of a foreign candidate in the contract country can be a condition before signing if the law requires it, but lacking it at selection or evaluation stage must not lead to automatic rejection (article 2.1 e).[1]

Finding notices

For any contract under international competition, the project owner publishes on afd.dgmarket.com the calls for expressions of interest, prequalification, initial selection and tender notices, and the award notice. For co-financing with the EIB under mutual recognition, a publication in the EU Official Journal is added (article 3.2.1).[1]
Notices must say how to get the documents, the deadline and the project owner's contact details. For each competed contract above EUR 40,000, the project owner also publishes at least once a year an award notice with the winner's name, subject and amount (article 3.2.1).[1]
The AFD resource page on the Guidelines states, at the time of reading, that the version in force is February 2024. The September 2026 document (version 1) says it amends that February 2024 version: ask the project owner which one applies to your tender.[3][1]
The AFD page states that the project owner alone is responsible for procurement. It also offers reference standard documents for works, supplies and consultants.[2]

Preparing the bid

Minimum deadlines for an AOI, unless the AFD agrees otherwise: 3 weeks for an application to an expression-of-interest call, prequalification or initial selection; 6 weeks for a consultant proposal (3 months at most); 8 weeks for a bid for works, equipment, supplies or services, from publication on dgMarket; 12 weeks for a design-and-build bid (article 2.1 c).[1]
Bids may be priced in one or more internationally convertible currencies, including at least the euro or the US dollar. The project owner can require local currency only for the share of local expenses (article 2.1 d).[1]
A bid guarantee is recommended for works, equipment and supplies, and not recommended for intellectual services. In its place the project owner can ask for a declaration that the bidder becomes ineligible for a set period if it withdraws, does not sign or does not provide the performance guarantee (article 3.2.8).[1]
Questions on the dossier go in writing to the project owner. The answer is sent to everyone who obtained the dossier, without naming who asked. The project owner may issue an addendum before the deadline, extending it if needed (article 3.2.7).[1]
National preference: only an explicit margin set in the dossier is allowed, at most 15% of the price of imported supplies for a supplies contract and 7.5% of the price for a works contract. No margin for intellectual services. Requirements for local labour, local products or partnering with a local firm are not eligible for AFD financing, unless the law imposes them and the AFD accepts them (article 3.2.4).[1]
Start-up advance: it requires a first-demand bank guarantee of the same amount, except for advances under EUR 10,000 if the documents say so (article 3.3.1).[1]

Submitting and bid opening

Opening is public, very soon after the deadline, whatever the number of bids received on time. The bidder's name, any variants and the existence of a guarantee are read aloud. With a single envelope, the price, variants and discounts are read aloud too. A signed record is drawn up (article 4.3).[1]
For design-and-build contracts and those awarded with a weighted technical score, bids come in two envelopes. Financial envelopes of technically non-compliant bids are returned unopened (article 4.3).[1]
Electronic submission (email, platform, reverse auction) requires the AFD's prior agreement (article 3.2.2).[1]

Evaluation

An evaluation committee of at least three competent members with no hierarchical link evaluates on exclusion, qualification and award criteria set in advance in the dossier. The dossier cannot allow rejecting a bid at the project owner's discretion (articles 3.1.3 and 4.4).[1]
Works and equipment under EUR 20 million excluding taxes, and supplies and services: the lowest compliant bid from a qualified bidder wins. Above EUR 20 million for works and equipment, and for design-and-build, unless the AFD agrees otherwise, technical bids are scored and the contract goes to the best-value bid on a weighted score, with the technical weight between 20% and 50% (article 4.4).[1]
A bid 20% or more below the project owner's estimate triggers a request for clarification and a price breakdown. Without a satisfactory answer, or if prices are inconsistent with the technical offer, it is rejected. The project owner cannot set an automatic rejection threshold (article 4.4).[1]
Before signing, the project owner obtains, under ex ante verification, the AFD's no-objection on the evaluation report (in two steps if there are two envelopes) and on the draft contract (article 1.6.2).[1]

After award

An unsuccessful bidder or consultant may ask in writing, within 5 business days of the notification of results, for the reasons. The project owner answers within 15 business days at the latest. The information covers the main weaknesses of the bid compared with the winner's, with no point-by-point comparison with other bids (article 3.2.12).[1]
Between award and signature, particular conditions (schedule, place of arbitration, taxes and duties) may be adjusted, but financial negotiation is forbidden without the AFD's express agreement. The project owner cannot require the winner to do work outside the dossier or to change its bid (article 4.9).[1]

Complaining

Write to the project owner, not the AFD. The AFD has no link with you, but the project owner must inform it of your complaint, and it can block its no-objection.

The project owner handles claims, appeals and complaints under the country's laws. It acknowledges receipt within 5 business days and answers within 10 business days of the acknowledgment at the latest. Appeals to an administrative or judicial authority are handled by it under the country's law (article 3.2.11).[1]
The project owner informs the AFD at the earliest of any complaint. Under ex ante verification, the AFD does not give its no-objection on the draft contract until complaints are satisfactorily resolved in its view (article 3.2.11).[1]
The AFD has a contractual link only with the beneficiary. Relations between the project owner and you are governed solely by the tender documents and the contract. If AFD financing is suspended, you have no direct right against it (article 1.2.4).[1]

Traps to know about

The integrity declaration binds the whole chain: subcontractors, managers, employees and agents, even undeclared ones. Check with your partners for sanctions under five years old and unpaid taxes and contributions before signing.
An AFD 'national tender' is open to foreigners. Do not count on a local preference: it cannot exceed 15% for imported supplies and 7.5% for works, and only if the dossier announces it.
The Guidelines we read set no standstill period. After notification you have 5 business days to ask for reasons. Act right away and write to the project owner.
The euro thresholds exclude taxes and duties of the project owner's country. Convert at the right rate before concluding a contract is 'too small' for an AOI.

What we could not confirm

Rather than guess, we list here what no reliable source allowed us to confirm. On these points, rely on the tender file or ask the body concerned.

Sources disagree. The official Guidelines page on afd.fr says the version in force is February 2024. The document 'Procurement Guidelines for AFD-financed contracts, September 2026, version 1' (AFD-R0097 v10), read on afd.fr, says it amends the February 2024 version. We used the most recent one but could not confirm on a dated official page that it is in force. The tender dossier states which version applies.
Not established: a standstill period before signature (none found in the Guidelines read), AFD rules for contracts under EUR 40,000 awarded by private-law entities, and obligations specific to Expertise France or Proparco.
The thresholds given are those of the Guidelines. A project's financing agreement or procurement plan may set other thresholds with the AFD's agreement.
Annex 1 (integrity declaration template) was not read in detail: use the one in your dossier, as templates vary slightly.

Sources

Directives pour la Passation des Marchés financés par l'AFD, septembre 2026, version 1 (AFD-R0097 v10 du 31/08/2026) (Agence française de développement, 2026-09)
Répondre à un appel d'offres (financements de l'AFD à l'étranger) (Agence française de développement)
Directives pour la passation des marchés financés par l'AFD dans les États étrangers (page de ressources, version indiquée en vigueur : février 2024) (Agence française de développement, 2024-02)

Bidding to: French Development Agency (AFD)