Africa is on the cusp of an infrastructure breakthrough. With a youthful population and rapidly growing cities, the continent has all the raw ingredients to spark a 25% surge in social infrastructure development over the next two years. From schools and hospitals to clean water and renewable energy, the potential is vast.
But here’s the catch: unless infrastructure procurement is urgently modernised, there’s a clear risk this moment could be squandered.
Too often, infrastructure in Africa is delayed or derailed not because of a lack of capital or viable projects, but by outdated procurement processes that drain investor confidence and cause endless approval delays.
The old way of doing things – email chains, spreadsheets, unfit document-sharing tools and paper tenders – is slow, opaque and vulnerable to errors, creating bottlenecks and risks that stall projects before they even begin.
According to Ansarada’s Social Infrastructure Outlook Report 2025, nearly 80% of global procurement professionals surveyed said they still use email to manage tenders, despite investments in modern procurement technology.
In Africa, that figure may be even higher. This is not just inefficient – it’s a liability that can ruin careers and sink projects.
The good news? This is one of the easiest problems to fix. Digitising procurement is one of the fastest, most effective reforms governments can make. It’s not a 10-year plan — not even a 10-month plan. Digital procurement platforms can be live in a day.
Take South Africa’s Integrated Renewable Energy and Resource Efficiency Programme. It aims to retrofit government buildings with solar panels and water-saving systems. What made the difference? The first procurement round was run entirely on a digital platform: no missing documents, no legal disputes – just speed, transparency, audit trails and results delivered.
Or consider Johannesburg’s R10bn inner-city redevelopment. Using a digital platform, vast amounts of technical tender documents were shared with bidders just four hours after the contract was signed. By the end of day one, 178 qualified bidders had the design documents in hand.
Closing the infrastructure gap
This isn’t a tech problem. It’s a trust problem. Investors want accountability. They want transparency. They want to know that when they back a project, the rules won’t change halfway through, and that their bids won’t vanish into a black hole. Digital procurement systems create a single source of truth – and confidence.
The African Development Bank estimates the continent needs about $181bn-$221bn annually until 2030 to close the infrastructure gap. That’s daunting – but it’s also one of the world’s biggest untapped opportunities. Unlike ageing Europe or low-growth Japan, Africa is expanding. Fast.
Some of the biggest opportunities lie in social infrastructure – assets that directly improve people’s lives: housing, hospitals, courthouses, schools and energy-efficient public buildings. Globally, social infrastructure accounts for 17% of all infrastructure investment. In Africa, it should be higher. Demand is skyrocketing.
So, what’s holding us back?
Public procurement represents roughly 17% of GDP across African economies. That makes it one of the most powerful levers of public spending – if used well.
But the risks are multiplying. In Ansarada’s 2025 report, 79% of respondents said they lacked full confidence in their procurement safeguards. Nearly half cited weak project documentation, poor risk allocation and insufficient transparency as critical pain points.
Other regions are moving fast. The Middle East is racing ahead with mega-projects, from Saudi Arabia’s futuristic cities to Oman’s bold push to become the world’s green hydrogen hub.
The African Continental Free Trade Area adds another layer of urgency. As trade barriers fall, demand for transport corridors, logistics hubs and energy infrastructure will soar.
We’ve seen what works. In Uganda, Niger, South Africa and Côte d’Ivoire, digital platforms have cut costs, reduced delays and increased participation. What’s missing is scale.
If we get this right, we won’t just build better roads, schools and hospitals – we’ll create jobs, grow economies and change lives for the better.
Africa’s infrastructure story doesn’t have to be one of delays, dysfunction and missed opportunities. It can be a good news story – one where governments lead with accountability, investors respond with capital and communities see real change.
Africa has the people, the resources, the ideas – and now the tools – to unlock this potential.
Let’s not wait another decade. Let’s start by fixing procurement.
Andy Potter is business development director EMEA at Ansarada Procure.
Top image: Rawpixel / Currency collage.
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