Public procurement notice: Contract Notice
Published: 2024-05-07
Region: DEA22
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Open procedure
CPV classification: 72000000 | 79416000 | 80400000
Submission deadline: 2024-05-21

Technical requirements: Zwingende bzw. fakultative Ausschlussgründe nach §§ 123 bis 126 GWB
According to Article 160, Section 3 of the German Act Against Restraint of Competition (GWB), application for review is not permissible insofar as
1. the applicant has identified the claimed infringement of the procurement rules before submitting the application for review and has not submitted a complaint to the contracting authority within a period of 10 calendar days; the expiry of the period pursuant to Article 134, Section 2 remains unaffected,
2. complaints of infringements of procurement rules that are evident in the tender notice are not submitted to the contracting authority at the latest by the expiry of the deadline for the application or by the deadline for the submission of bids, specified in the tender notice.
3. complaints of infringements of procurement rules that first become evident in the tender documents are not submitted to the contracting authority at the latest by the expiry of the deadline for application or by the deadline for the submission of bids,
4. more than 15 calendar days have expired since receipt of notification from the contracting authority that it is unwilling to redress the complaint.
Sentence 1 does not apply in the case of an application to determine the invalidity of the contract in accordance with Article 135, Section 1 (2). Article 134, Section 1, Sentence 2 remains unaffected.
The Government of the Republic of Benin aims to "transform Benin into West Africa's digital services platform for accelerated growth and social inclusion". To do so, the government has developed a solid administrative framework to underpin its ambitious development objectives. A Ministry for Digitalization was set up in 2016, followed by the establishment of specialized technical agencies for information security, infrastructure development, information systems and services, etc. The "Digital Code" was adopted in 2017, followed by the strategies on cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence. 
Among the government"s flagship projects is the "Smart Government" programme which aims to contribute to the establishment of a modern administration with the help of the Agency for Information and Digital Systems  (ASIN). ASIN"s objectives include the widespread use of ICT in public administration and in Benin's social and economic sectors.
Over the past three years, Benin has made remarkable progress in digital transformation, designing national e-government frameworks and developing e-services for citizens and businesses. A data exchange solution for public authorities was implemented based on X-Road, the open-source technology used in Estonia. A public key infrastructure has already been put in place; an e-payment system will follow shortly. Benin championed the Smart Africa Digital ID Blueprint to enhance cross-border eID interoperability and the Government successfully conducted a large census for the purpose of identifying people, resulting in nearly 10 million Beninese listed in the National Register of Persons (NPR). Next to civil status data and biometric data, the NPR contains the Personal Identification Number (NPI) that identifies every Beninese citizen. Therefore, NPR is one of the foundations for digital identity and a key element for public e-services provided through a national e-services portal. The latter will serves as a single point of entry to all public services - increasing accountability and accessibility. While still nascent, the portal currently makes some 250 public services accessible and will ultimately be the place where most public services can be accessed digitally. 
The German Development Cooperation supports the ambitious reform agenda of the Ministry of Digitalization through the Digital Transformation Center approach. The concept of the Digital Transformation Centers is linked to a political initiative of the Federal Republic of Germany to support the governments of partner countries in creating mechanisms and instruments for the development, implementation and dissemination of digital solutions. 
In Benin, the Digital Transformation Center has worked on three topics: digital administration, digital entrepreneurship and digital learning.
On behalf of the German Government, GIZ aims at promoting the collaboration between the public  and the local private sector on the digitalisation of public services in Benin. The project "Beninnovation - Strengthening digital transformation in Benin" wants to unlock the creative and innovative potential of the private sector for the digitalisation of public services by implementing a series of activities. Among those activities are the development of a methodological and technical framework (toolkit) and the preparation of a project pipeline for the digitalisation of services or the establishment of a co-creation space that will enable stakeholders to successfully co-create new ideas and services. These and other activities are complemented by a series of tailor-made training offers for both, the public and the private sector.
1. option up to 36 months (see above), 
2 extensions of contract duration without substantial changes
1. Average annual turnover for the last three years (last-but-four financial year can be included in case of tenders held within 6 months of end of last financial year), at least: 500,000.00 EUR
2. Average number of employees and managers in the last three calendar years, at least 8 persons


Winner: Datenservice Öffentlicher Einkauf (in Verantwortung des Beschaffungsamts des BMI)