Are you a supplier and intend to do business with the government? Good news is, you do not have to physically go to government offices and be in long queues for hours to transact business.
More so, you do not need "connections" to get a government tender, as long as you have the required qualifications, you can go for IFMIS self-registration.
What is IFMIS Portal?
IFMIS is an online portal where suppliers can perform various procurement processes including tendering, requisition, payments and checking notifications of tender awards.
In 2014, the government announced that all tenders, bids, and contracts in the country would be posted online via the Integrated Financial Management Information System, also known as IFMIS.
IFMIS aims at promoting openness and accountability in the use of public money, hence increasing transparency and cutting costs thus making Kenya more attractive for inward investment.
Requirements for registration on IFMIS
Before you begin your registration, suppliers are required to have the following;
1. Applicant’s first name and last name
2. Company’s phone number
Original scans of:
3. National ID card or passport.
4. Certificate of Incorporation or Business Registration Certificate.
5. A Partnership Deed if you are running a partnership business.
6. CR12 if you are running a Limited Company.
7. A tax compliance certificate.
8. A tax compliance certificate Letter from the National Construction Authority (NCA).
How to register a business through the Kenya Supplier Portal
Registration through the Kenya supplier portal is effortless and straightforward such that even an individual with just the basic computer skills can register his business alone.
The IFMIS e-procurement system has a feature called the Kenya suppliers portal which is advantageous for any supplier who intends to do business with the government.
The Kenya supplier portal acts as a direct communication channel between the suppliers and the government procuring entities.
Here is a step by step guide.
1. Search for the official IFMIS website to access the IFMIS portal.
2. Click on the website which will take you to IFMIS homepage.
3. On the IFMIS homepage, click on the “COMPONENTS”
4. On the last option in the Components category, click on Suppliers Portal.
5. On the Suppliers Portal homepage, click on the link provided.
6. The provided link will direct you to the Supplier Portal Self registration page.
7. On the self-registration page, you will see a form asking for company details and contact information such as company registration number and company email.
8. Fill in the form with the required information including those marked in asterisk as they are compulsory.
9. Cross-check that you have filled the form correctly then click the Submit button.
10. After submitting the form, you will receive an email with your username and status of approval.
11. At this point, you are ready to login to the Kenya Supplier portal and to also bid for open tenders.
12. Use the username and your unique password from your password to log in.
How to retrieve open tender from the Kenya Supplier portal
1. Get the online tender number of the organization that has advertised the tender.
2. Access the Kenya supplier portal.
3. Click on sourcing.
4. Under open negotiations, open the drop-down button and select number.
5. Type the online reference number that you received from the organization advertising the tender and click Go.
NOTE: For request for quotation (RFQ), suppliers get notifications from procuring entities that pre-qualified them.
What is AGPO?
AGPO stands for Access to Government Procurement Opportunities.
If you are a youth (aged between 18 and 35 years), organized group of women or persons with disability, running an enterprise then you qualify to participate in opportunities created by the Government of Kenya.
These opportunities include access to AGPO tenders, public works, consultancy services, and supply of goods among others.
A youth-owned organization should be a registered enterprise in the form of a limited company, partnership, or sole proprietorship.
If it is a limited company or partnership, ownership must be in the form of shares owned or capital invested. The composition of youth in the company must not be less than 70%.
According to the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2003, disability is referred to as a physical, mental, sensory, or an impairment in a person. The definition also covers hearing, visual, physical, or learning incapability, that impacts a person’s environmental, economic, or social participation.
For women to register for the AGPO certificate, they must be in a company, corporation, association or unincorporated entity where 70% of the members or shareholders, including directors are females.
How to get AGPO certificate:
1. Visit the AGPO website which has all the information you need to register for the certificate.
You will find information about eligibility criteria, requirements and the law that governs the issuance of the AGPO certificate.
2. Create and activate your account. You must create an account by providing your personal information, email, and set a password. The account is necessary to enable you to log in to the AGPO website and complete your registration.
3. After creating the account, you will receive an activation link in your email.
4. Open it to activate your account.
5. Log in to the AGPO system using the email address and password you used to register an account.
6. You cannot log into the account successfully if you have not activated your account. If you have forgotten your password, you can always request a new one.
7. When you log in, a dashboard will appear where you can check your application status.
8. You can update your profile and upload all the requisite documents to get the approval.
7. Business registration.
In this step, you should register your business by filling in all the information in the fields provided. You must also attach original scans of the required documents
Your business enterprise information is necessary to enable you to get news on the resources that best suit your business. It also puts you in a pre-qualified stage of accessing AGPO tenders.
8. Compliance. You must submit your enterprise’s compliance details when applying for the AGPO certificate.
These details include:
- Your business type – ICT, Security, Construction, etc.
- Number of employees
- Annual Turnover in Kenya Shillings
- Incorporation Certificate Number
- Years of experience
- PIN Number
- Tax Compliance Certificate number
- VAT Number where applicable
- Bank details including name, branch, account name and account number
- Government history. The step allows you to submit any history of working with the Government of Kenya.
- The information needed can include whether you have been a benefactor of the 30% scheme or a supplier.
- Also, you must give any tender value and answer whether you have done any capacity building in the past.
- After completing the application and uploading all the documents, the next step is to wait.
- You can always log back into the website to check your AGPO certificate application status.
Note: should you successfully apply for the certificate, you will have to renew it every two years.
The AGPO certificate renewal process is necessary to check the shareholding status of the enterprise and its tax compliance.
The AGPO registration process is easy. It will take you at least an hour to complete the registration if you have all the necessary documents. If not, the registration portal allows you to save the information you input in the required fields. That means you can always come back and review the information before proceeding.
So how does IFMIS Work?
1. User department kicks off procurement procedures by making requisition for specific supplies.
2. Accountants check whether funds are available in the ledger to pay for the goods or services, and a request is sent for approval from the holder of Authority to Incur Expenses (AIE).
3. AIE vets requisition by checking its validity for approval and commits the funds in the system but can reject, reassign or request additional information.
Quotation request
4. With approval granted, the procurement officer creates quotation request from approved requisition by filling in selected procurement method, lines detail, controls, and suppliers lists, and sends quotation to head of procurement for approval.
5. Head of supply chains receives notification, reviews quotation and approves.
6. Quotations are then published to the supplier through the supplier portal. The supplier also receives notifications from procuring unit through the Kenya Supplier Portal before closing day.
7. The system automatically locks suppliers from submitting more responses once time set for submission expires.
8. Procurement tendering committee begins the process of opening suppliers’ responses online.
9. Procurement tender committee decides on who to award the tender based on technical and commercial evaluation and sends to head of procurement who approves, and the award is notified.
Purchase order
10. An order is made from approved award and purchase order is made. Chief finance officer verifies charge account and also approves the order, and final approval is done by the head of procurement.
11. Supplier receives online order through Kenya Supplier Portal for acknowledgement. The supplier can then deliver goods and or services.
12. Inspection committee receives and inspects goods and attaches inspection report. Invoice is prepared to match the order amount.
13. First invoice approval is done by AIE holder and the final one done by the head of accounting.
14. Payments to the supplier are then processed online through EFT, and funds are transferred to suppliers’ bank account. Notification of payment is done through the Kenya Supplier Portal.
