The Ministry of Social Policy and the World Bank are implementing a new initiative

The Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine together with the World Bank are implementing a new initiative that will allow procurement for international donors through the ProZorro electronic system. This innovation will be implemented by the State Institution "Professional Procurement" as part of a pilot project.

This was announced by Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Nadiya Bihun. She noted that the transition of public procurement to the Prozorro electronic system has already proven its effectiveness and contributes to increased competition.

Bigun emphasized that using the ProZorro system for tenders and framework agreements through the Professional Procurement State Enterprise can significantly save money and time for customers. This is especially true for projects funded by foreign donors, including the World Bank.

From now on, Professional Procurement will be responsible for conducting procurement for World Bank funds in compliance with their rules. All procedures will be published in the ProZorro system, which should increase their transparency and efficiency, as well as reduce the burden on the central executive body.

"We are confident that procurement should be handled by professionals, while the Ministry's employees should focus on their immediate tasks - policy-making," said Bigun. She also added that this step will be a signal to other international partners to actively use the ProZorro system.

Nadiia Bihun also emphasized that the World Bank was the first to use ProZorro for its procurement. To date, more than 300 such tenders have been announced in the system, and it is expected that this experience will help attract other stakeholders to use ProZorro, while improving the system's processes and functionality.

The Ministry of Social Policy reported that cooperation with the World Bank has been ongoing since 2014 under the project "Modernization of the Social Support System of Ukraine". This project, funded by the World Bank, is aimed at improving the system of social assistance and services for low-income families through investments in the development of the material base of the social sphere.

Previously, procurement under the project was conducted without the use of the Prozorro system, which limited the participation of Ukrainian entrepreneurs in the bidding process. Now, thanks to the innovations, Ukrainian businesses will be able to participate in the project's procurement through the ProZorro system using the usual functionality.

Payment for the services of Professional Procurement will be made only upon successful completion of the procurement procedure. This will ensure maximum transparency and efficiency of donor-funded procurement, helping to attract more participants and increase the level of competition.