Who is buying and which rules apply (Guinea)

Before you read the criteria in a notice, ask one question: where does the money come from, and which rules come with it? The answer decides almost everything: who may respond, the form of the bid security, the language of the bid, the portal to use, and whom to complain to if things go wrong. There are four families of buyer, and a minute is usually enough to recognise yours.

Family 1: national public buyers

These are ministries, local authorities, public institutions and, depending on the country, some state-owned companies. They buy with public budget money, under the country's public procurement code.

How to recognise them. The notice mentions an "autorité contractante" (contracting authority), a "personne responsable des marchés" (procurement officer) or a "maître d'ouvrage" (project owner). It refers to a national budget, a budget year or a procurement code. No foreign funder is named.

What it changes for you. The rules are your country's, and they are public. Administrative documents, thresholds and appeal time limits are in your country rulebook. A committee of the buyer evaluates the bids, and a regulatory body can hear disputes.

ARMP (Autorité de régulation des marchés publics)
Regulator. Its Dispute Settlement Committee rules on appeals after the prior appeal to the buyer. It may also act on its own initiative, sanction (exclusion, fine, withdrawal of approval) and keeps the blacklist. Its website posts tender notices, minutes, procurement plans and its decisions. The firm qualification certificate is issued by the OCE attached to it.[2][8][6]
DGCMP (Direction générale du contrôle des marchés publics)
Control body attached to the finance ministry, with regional and prefectural services. It controls before and after: it reviews the tender dossier before launch, gives the no-objection opinion on the evaluation report, approves contracts and may send an observer to the bid opening. It was called the National Directorate for Public Procurement Control (DNCMP) in texts from 2018 to 2021: some sites and guides keep that name.[1][2][11][4]
Ministre de l'Économie, des Finances et du Budget
Authorises in advance restricted tenders, direct agreements and two-stage tenders. Approves contracts, or delegates that power to sector ministers, governors and prefects, and sets the thresholds by order.[2][1]
PRMP (personne responsable des marchés publics), cellule de passation et commission de passation des marchés
At each contracting authority: the cell receives bids against a receipt, the commission opens them in public session and evaluates the bids, the PRMP signs the contract and answers requests for reasons for rejection. PRMPs mandated at regional, prefectural and communal level run procedures within their level.[2][1]
Service de contrôle auprès des autorités contractantes
Prior control of award procedures and draft contracts below the DGCMP's control thresholds, of which it is a decentralised arm.[7]
TELEMO (plateforme nationale de commande publique)
Electronic public procurement platform, officially launched on 22 May 2026 according to the press, and in « a new phase of use » since September 2026 according to the ARMP, which says it is still working on its rollout and on electronic submission. The ARMP does not say its use is mandatory. Only the press reports that, about August 2026 decrees I could not read.[12][9][10][13]
Administration et Contrôle des Grands Projets (ACGP)
Body under the authority of the President of the Republic, in charge of public project supervision for large projects. Expression of interest notices concerning it appear on the DGCMP website (September 2026).[2][11]

Family 2: projects paid for by a development funder

A development bank or donor funds a project, and a local unit buys for it: a project management unit, a coordination cell, sometimes a ministry. The buyer is local, but the rules are generally the funder's.

How to recognise them. Look for the words "financement", "prêt", "crédit" or "don" (funding, loan, credit, grant) followed by the name of an institution. One sentence comes up often: the government has received a loan or credit from such a bank and intends to apply part of it to payments under this contract. The project's name also appears in the notice.

What it changes for you. The file follows the funder's template, and its vocabulary can be surprising. Eligibility conditions may differ from the national code, and the funder often keeps its own list of debarred firms. Expect clauses on fraud and corruption that let it inspect your accounts too. Each organisation's page sets out its rules:

Family 3: United Nations agencies and other international bodies

United Nations agencies, regional organisations and other international bodies buy for themselves, with their own rules and their own systems. They are not bound by the procurement code of the country they work in.

How to recognise them. The buyer is named directly, with no ministry or project unit. The document is often called an RFQ, ITB or RFP. Submission goes through a supplier portal or a dedicated e-mail address, and registering in advance is common.

What it changes for you. There are fewer national administrative documents, but formal requirements are strict. Time limits are sometimes short, and the deadline may be given in another time zone. The national regulator normally has no hold over these purchases: a complaint goes through the body's own channels. Start with the United Nations page.

Family 4: private companies and NGOs

A mining company, a bank, a telecoms operator or an NGO buys according to its own policy. No public procurement code normally applies.

How to recognise them. The buyer is a company or an association. The notice speaks of a "consultation", a "demande de prix" (request for prices) or a call for applications, and often points to an e-mail address.

What it changes for you. There are fewer formalities, but fewer safeguards too. The buyer can negotiate, change its mind or never reply, and there is generally no public session and no appeal period. So the contract you sign is your main protection, and an NGO spending a funder's money must sometimes follow a procedure that funder imposes. See Companies and NGOs.

The four families side by side

	National public	Funder-financed project	UN and international bodies	Companies and NGOs
Who decides	The committee and contracting authority, with the national reviews provided for	The project unit, often with the funder's agreement	The body itself	The company or NGO
Which rules	The national code	The funder's, with national law for what the file leaves to it	The body's own	Internal purchasing policy, sometimes a funder's
Where to complain	The buyer, then the national appeals body, then the courts	The buyer, then the channels named in the file and by the funder	The body's channels, to check in its document	The buyer, then commercial law if a contract exists
Where the bid goes	To the buyer's address in the file, or the national portal if there is one	To the project unit, or the funder's portal	To the body's portal or address	To the address given in the consultation

The one-minute test

Read who signs the notice
A ministry or a town council? A project unit? An international agency? A company?
Look for the source of funding
It is often in the first lines. A funder's name puts you in family 2, even if a ministry signs the notice.
If the notice is silent, open the file
The instructions to bidders state the rules that apply. If you still have doubts, ask the buyer in writing.
Go and read the right page
Your country rulebook for family 1, the organisation's page for families 2, 3 and 4.

Where notices appear in your country

Channels depend partly on the family of buyer: national notices have their official outlets, while funders and international agencies also publish on their own sites. Where you read a notice does not change its rules.

Site de l'ARMP (armpguinee.org)
Working on 2 November 2026, with documents added up to 27 October. Sections: tenders by type (works, supplies, intellectual services, mixed contracts), procurement plans, expressions of interest, award notices, public-private partnerships, Dispute Settlement Committee decisions, blacklist, texts. Most recent documents are minutes and addenda: check the deadline in each document.
Open to read at the time of my check.
Site de la DGCMP (dgcmp.gov.gn)
Working on 2 November 2026, with notices published up to 22 October. It groups notices into general, open, restricted and international tenders, expressions of interest, results, approved contracts and procurement plans, with files to download as PDF or Excel. It links to TELEMO in its e-procurement menu.
Open to read at the time of my check.
TELEMO (telemo.gov.gn)
National public procurement platform, being rolled out according to the ARMP. On 2 November 2026, its public list of contracts showed a single notice, so most Guinean notices are still elsewhere. I could not verify registration or bid submission. According to the press, the August 2026 decrees would require candidates to register for tenders run through the platform.
The list of contracts can be read without an account. According to the press, not confirmed by a text I read: candidate registration, and a tender dossier to pay for before any bid is submitted.
Journal des marchés publics, annonces légales et sites des autorités contractantes
The Code requires the notice to be published in identical terms in the Public Procurement Journal, in at least three national or international publications, on the contracting authority's website and on the ARMP's (art. 54). I could not open an online edition of the Public Procurement Journal.

What next

Once you know the family, look at the type of procedure, which says who can respond and what to hand in, then read the file.

Who is buying and which rules apply