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Manufacturing Africa

Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

07 Sep 2026 at 12:04

Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is procuring continued delivery of the Manufacturing Africa programme, a specialist international development service supporting increased foreign direct investment in manufacturing across Africa. Its purpose is to promote economic transformation, productivity, technology and management improvements, workforce capability, and formal employment. The programme operates in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Tanzania, with related activity also delivered in the United Kingdom. The scope includes supporting investment pipelines, working with governments, investors, private-sector stakeholders and other system actors, embedding lessons from the programme, and preparing an orderly handover to the successor Growth Community of Expertise Technical Assistance Facility. This is a services requirement, classified under foreign affairs and related services. The buyer is the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

The procurement is complete and is an awarded modification to an existing contract, rather than a new competition. The contract was awarded to McKinsey Development Partners on 7 September 2026 using a limited procedure without prior publication of a call for competition. FCDO relied on Regulation 72(1)(b) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, citing the incumbent’s established relationships, programme knowledge and live investment pipeline, and the cost and delivery risks of changing supplier. The modification adds £32,000,000, increasing the contract ceiling from £134,000,000 to £166,000,000. The contract is due to run until 31 March 2028, following an earlier extension. The award includes subcontracting. The original contract’s option to extend by up to two years was recorded, with a previous maximum value of £130,000,000.

This award indicates demand for large-scale manufacturing investment and economic transformation programmes delivered across multiple African markets. A credible future competitor would need experience supporting foreign direct investment into manufacturing, developing and managing investment pipelines, and translating investment into productivity, technology adoption, workforce development and formal employment. Relevant capability includes working effectively with government departments, diplomatic posts, investors, private-sector businesses and wider market-system organisations across Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Tanzania. Suppliers would also need programme-management capacity for delivery at substantial scale, evidence of value-for-money control, and the ability to manage continuity, risk, knowledge transfer and transition between international development programmes. Experience embedding lessons with institutions that remain after programme closure, and preparing a structured handover to a successor technical-assistance facility, would be particularly relevant. The requirement is suited to large organisations able to coordinate multinational teams and subcontractors.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Manufacturing Africa

Notice Description

The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) intends to increase the financial ceiling of an existing contract - Manufacturing Africa (MA) to continue to support increased foreign direct investment (FDI) into manufacturing and contribute towards the economic transformation across Africa to create more and better jobs in the industry.

Lot Information

Lot 1

This notice is to indicate that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) proposes to scale up the contract with the named supplier for Manufacturing Africa (MA) currently operating in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Tanzania. The contract financial limit will be uplifted by an additional PS32,000,000. This notice constitutes a Voluntary ex ante notice under Regulation 99 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. The Authority considers the award of this contract modification is permitted under Regulation 72 (1) (b) of those Regulations, and therefore subject to publication of a notice under that provision, however the Authority also intends to observe a 10 day standstill period under regulation 99 (3)(c). FCDO's aim, through this programme is to contribute towards the economic transformation needed in Africa to create more and better jobs and to set countries on a trajectory out of poverty. The programme supports increased foreign direct investment (FDI) into manufacturing which in turn boosts productivity by introducing new technology and management capabilities, increase the capabilities of the workforce and diffuse these improvements into the wider economy. The aim of Manufacturing Africa is to generate formal employment, which in turn creates social stability. The additional budget will allow for Manufacturing Africa to continue to fulfil its role as a key delivery mechanism for the Growth Community of Expertise and allow it to meet the current and anticipated demands across FCDO. It will also allow for activities which scale Manufacturing Africa's impact while lowering outcome risk by focussing on embedding lessons from the current programme with system actors in MA markets who will endure beyond the programme, and building pipeline and activities around the needs of the successor Growth CoE Technical Assistance Facility. Finally it will allow for an efficient handover to the successor programme, avoiding a gap in provision and ensuring a streamlined transfer of programming with no duplication of costs or vfm concerns.

Options: The original contract included an option to extend the contract by up to 2 years (up to 3 Sept 2028) and a maximum contract value of PS130,000,000. A previous amendment has extended the contract to 31 March 2028 and to PS134,000,000. This modification will now increase the financial ceiling to PS166,000,000 with the end date remaining 31 March 2028.

Procurement Information

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) intends to increase the financial ceiling of the Manufacturing Africa (MA) contract by PS32,000,000. The modification is made under Regulation 72(1)(b) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. The additional funding will enable continued delivery of the existing Manufacturing Africa service model at the scale and pace required to meet current demand and support transition to the successor Growth Community of Expertise Technical Assistance Facility. The modification does not introduce new services or materially alter the nature or scope of the contract. FCDO considers that a change of contractor cannot be made for economic and technical reasons. The incumbent supplier is responsible for a live pipeline of investments and activities and has established relationships with Posts, partner governments, investors and private sector stakeholders, together with programme-specific knowledge developed over the life of the contract. Appointing an alternative supplier for the remaining contract period would require mobilisation, transfer of knowledge and subsequent handover to the successor programme, creating significant inconvenience, duplication of costs and increased delivery risk. The modification does not exceed 50% of the original contract value and the overall nature of the contract remains unchanged. The amendment is time-limited and supports delivery continuity, value for money and an orderly transition to successor Growth CoE arrangements.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06f357
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/084333-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

75 - Administration, defence and social security services

CPV Codes

75210000 - Foreign affairs and other services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
7 Sep 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Not Specified
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
EAST KILBRIDE
Postcode
G75 8EA
Postcode Area
Glasgow
Country
Scotland
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLM Scotland
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLM9 Southern Scotland
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLM95 South Lanarkshire
Delivery Location
TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLH East (England), TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England)
Local Authority
South Lanarkshire
Electoral Ward
East Kilbride West
Westminster Constituency
East Kilbride and Strathaven

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

McKinsey Development Partners

Further Information

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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