# Prozorro.Sale

Prozorro.Sale (ukr. - Прозорро.Продажі) is a Ukrainian digital Public Sales ecosystem - online auctions for transparent and efficient sale, lease, and allocation of government and municipal assets (incl. real estate, land, privatization, licenses & quotas, seized assets, non-performing loans, surplus assets, metal scrap, etc).
The ecosystem is arranged as a public-private partnership: government core (Prozorro.Sale JSC) + private eMarketplaces.
As of March 2025, electronic auctions in the Prozorro.Sale system brought organizers more than ₴107 billion (i.e. US$3.5 billion) into budgets of different levels.

## History

The project was launched in 2016 with the support of international donors, in particular, Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF), through the commitment and capacity of the NGO Transparency International Ukraine.
Work on the creation of the "Prozorro.Sale" system started in July 2016 with the sale of assets of liquidated banks. At that time, the reform of public procurement in Ukraine proved its effectiveness, so to develop a new project that would help to sell state and municipal property transparently, the experience of Prozorro was applied.
The initiator of the system was the Deposit Guarantee Fund of Ukraine (DGF). In 2016, when the reform of the banking system got under way, the Deposit Guarantee Fund was managing the assets of more than 90 liquidated banks. Their book value was more than ₴400 billion (i.e. US$14.86 billion) These assets had to be sold as soon as possible at the highest value to pay off the millions of depositors of bankrupt banks. The law established a 5-year term for doing this, but the sales model existing at that time did not allow for efficient and transparent management of the liquidated assets of banks.
Therefore, the electronic trading system (ETS) based on the principles of Prozorro was established. A team of specialists from different divisions of the Fund and the project office hosted by Transparency International Ukraine, the reform's core partner, received a political mandate to carry out the institutional transformation. The National Bank of Ukraine and the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine supported the idea. On June 24, 2016, the stakeholders concluded a Memorandum of Cooperation in building a transparent and efficient system for the sale of assets of insolvent and liquidated banks in Ukraine.
The first public auction was held in October 2016, and since February 1, 2017, all assets of bankrupt banks began being sold exclusively through online auctions in the "Prozorro.Sale" system
In 2018, with the help of the Kyiv School of Economics, a hybrid Dutch auction was designed and launched. It allows to ensure that assets whose real value is difficult to determine will be sold at a fair market price.
In February 2019, the ETS was transferred to state ownership — the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine. In early January 2019, the composition of the supervisory board of the state enterprise "Prozorro.Sale" was approved.

## Mission and Principles

The system is based on two key principles: the "golden triangle" of interaction between government, business, and civil society. It is also "everyone sees everything," which means that all processes are transparent. Anyone can come to the auction and participate in it, and society has the opportunity to monitor whether there is any abuse by sellers and bidders. The system operates in compliance with the principles of data confidentiality.
The project aims to increase the transparency of the sale process and the efficiency of state and municipal property management using modern IT solutions. It also contributes to the development of Ukraine by introducing market mechanisms and digital technologies in state property management.

## Management

Mr Sergiy Boote (Serhii But) is the Chairman of the Board of Prozorro.Sale JSC. An independent Supervisory Board controls the company. It consists of 1 representative of the Ministry of Economy and 3 independent experts selected in an open competition.

## How the system works

Prozorro.Sale is a 2-level public-private ecosystem:
* 1st level ("front office") - Private eMarketplaces (over 40) - Sales, Customer support
* 2nd level ("back office") - State company (Prozorro.Sale JSC) - Admin, IT, GR, Marketing

## Participants

* Sellers - central government, municipalities, corporate clients, individuals.
* Buyers - anyone (incl. foreign buyers), subject to possible legal restrictions.
* Prozorro.Sale JSC - company 100% owned by the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, is responsible for ecosystem development (IT, GR, Marketing) and administration.
* eMarketplaces - online marketplaces are accredited independent legal entities connected to the system. They cooperate with organizers of auctions (asset owners) and potential buyers. eMarketplaces advise organizers and potential buyers, help them register in the system, draw up a lot correctly, and participate in the auction. They advertise lots and attract buyers. They maintain the software and keep the bidders' security deposit intact until the bidding results are in. As of March 2025, there were 39 eMarketplaces accredited in the system.
* Public control - anyone can monitor the auction process and results using a Web portal, open API, or Business Intelligence module.

## Asset types

Prozorro.Sale is a one-stop-shop for different types of public assets:
* Privatization: state-owned enterprises.
* Toxic: non-performing loans, arrested assets, bankruptcy, sanctioned assets.
* Surplus: any property, charity auctions.
* Licenses & Quotas: mining, fishing, marine farming, green energy support, etc.
* Lease: land, real estate, other property.

## Auction types

Different types of auctions are used for different types of assets to maximize the profit:
* English auction - unfortunately, it doesn't fit all asset types.
* Dutch auction - is used if previous English auctions were unsuccessful, or when it's difficult to determine the starting market price.
* Hybrid auctions (preferential right, multiple winners, etc.) - mixed types of auctions, including hybrid Dutch auction specially designed by Kyiv School of Economics used in small-scale privatization, bankruptcy, leasing, and other areas.

## Awards

* 2017 - Citi Tech for Integrity Challenge (T4I).
* 2018 - C5 «Shield in the cloud award».
* 2019 - Apolitical “Doing More for Less”: Global Public Service Team of the Year Award.
* 2020 - World Commerce & Contracting Innovation & Excellence Award.
* 2021 - Open Government Partnership: OGP Impact Award.
* 2022 - UN Public Service Award: Enhancing the effectiveness of public institutions to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
* 2023 - IAM Asset Management Excellence Awards: Digital Innovation (finalist).

## International recognition

* World Bank: “The transition to a secure and transparent open-source system in land auctions at the end of 2021 doubled prices and reduced barriers to participation in auctions”
* Transparency International: “transfer of public and municipal property for rent on the basis of transparency and competition directly influences the well-being of the community and the ability to improve infrastructure and comfort locally”
* Open Government Partnership: “Prozorro.Sale turned abandoned assets into productive ones, opening business access to investment opportunities and allowing civil society organizations to monitor the integrity of the transactions, thereby earning more trust in the privatization process”
* OECD: “A special auction method was developed by the Kyiv School of Economics with the aim to reduce the effects of insider knowledge and increase the level of competition, while maximising the sale price. In comparison with other countries who have had similar issues, Ukraine outperformed most in multiple metrics”
* Open Contracting Partnership: “Prozorro.Sale is a pioneering approach to help governments tap into the hidden potential of their assets and generate more revenue for the state. With a radically transparent design, and with open and fair bidding, the online auction system allows government agencies to sell or lease items that were previously impossible or very inefficient to trade”

## Related systems

* Prozorro - Success of the public procurement platform Prozorro inspired creators of Prozorro.Sale. These are 2 independent companies, both belonging to the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, and both have the word "Prozorro" (Ukrainian: Transparent) in their names.
* Diia - User verification integration.