Kenya Power has awarded tenders worth Ksh. 609 million to youth, women and persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the current financial year. This is during the 8 months from July 2023.
The tenders are part of the Ksh 1.8 billion procurement budget that the company set aside for the current financial year to be utilized under the Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO).
During a similar period in the last financial year, the company awarded a total of Ksh 244 million worth of tenders to businesses owned by youth, women and PWDs. Businesses owned by youth accounted for the largest value of tenders that were awarded, taking up a total of Ksh 472.9 million. Women accounted for Ksh 135.5 million, while PWDs accounted for Ksh 646,700 respectively.
To drive awareness and uptake of AGPO tenders, Kenya Power has been holding two sensitization workshops in Mombasa and Kisumu targeting the special interest groups. In addition to the sensitization forums, the company is also working with financial institutions to create linkages for financial support to the interest groups to facilitate their participation in the AGPO tenders. The company also carries out pre-bid conferences during a tendering period to enhance knowledge and awareness among bidders.
“The increased uptake of AGPO tenders is a result of the deliberate effort by the Company to sensitize the target groups on the procurement opportunities that are available within the Company. We have sustained sensitization workshops across the country to educate special interest groups on how to participate in our procurement processes so that we can attain 100% absorption of the procurement budget that we have set aside for them,” said Dr. John Ngeno, Kenya Power’s General Manager, Supply Chain and Logistics.
“We are keen to maintain liaison with leading financial institutions to offer financial support to bidders under the AGPO category. Most of these institutions also participate in our sensitization forums where they get to meet the bidders and offer tailor-made financial solutions to boost their capacity to bid,” added Dr. Ngeno.