Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) tenders

The Islamic Development Bank finances public development projects in its member countries, using financing that complies with Islamic finance principles. Contracts under these projects are awarded by the member-country government or its executing agency, not by the bank directly, but they follow IsDB procurement rules and are open to eligible firms and consultants.

The bank works only with its member countries, which span the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, and parts of Asia and Europe, and all belong to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Uzbekistan is a member country, so IsDB-financed projects are part of the domestic and regional pipeline for firms based there.

IsDB-financed projects cover a broad range of sectors, including:

• Infrastructure: transport, energy, water supply, and sanitation.
• Human development: health, education, and social protection.
• Agriculture, rural development, and food security.
• Private sector development, trade, and Islamic finance.
• Science, technology, and climate resilience.

IsDB provides money through Sharia-compliant modes, such as Istisnaʼa for construction and manufacturing, Ijarah (leasing), installment sale, and interest-free loans, rather than conventional interest-bearing lending. This affects how the project is financed, but from a bidder’s point of view the procurement itself is competitive and follows standard steps.

IsDB tenders and consulting opportunities appear in a few connected places. For any specific project you can trace the notice back to its official source:

• The IsDB Project Procurement portal at isdb.org/project-procurement, which lists procurement notices and links to the tender documents.
• Procurement notices issued by the executing agency in the member country, including General Procurement Notices, Specific Procurement Notices, and Requests for Expressions of Interest.
• UN Development Business, which syndicates IsDB and other development-bank notices in one feed.

Every notice carries a project reference and identification number. Keep them, because they let you find the full tender documents, any prequalification requirements, and later clarifications or addenda.

IsDB uses standard procurement methods so that every bidder is judged on the same basis. For consulting assignments, the typical path is:

1. Expression of interest. The executing agency publishes a Request for Expressions of Interest (REOI), and firms submit evidence of relevant experience.
2. Shortlist. The agency evaluates the submissions and draws up a shortlist of qualified firms.
3. Request for proposals. Shortlisted firms receive the RFP, the terms of reference, and the selection method.
4. Proposals. Firms submit a technical proposal, including expert CVs in the format set by the IsDB standard request for proposals, and, for most methods, a separate financial proposal.
5. Evaluation and award. Technical and financial scores are combined using the weights set in the RFP, and the successful firm is invited to negotiate the contract.

The most common consultant selection method is Quality- and Cost-Based Selection (QCBS), which scores technical quality and price together. Other methods, such as QBS, CQS, FBS, and LCS, apply to specific situations, and goods, works, and equipment are usually bought through competitive bidding.

IsDB finances projects only in its member countries, so the location of the work is always a member country. Who may bid for a given contract is set by the eligibility rules printed in each notice and its tender documents.

• The 57 member countries include Uzbekistan and much of Central Asia, along with countries across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
• Eligibility of bidders is defined by source-country rules in each procurement, which can include firms from member countries and, depending on the financing, non-member countries.
• Individual experts and firms should confirm their eligibility in the specific tender documents before investing time in a bid.

For firms and experts based in Uzbekistan and other member countries, IsDB projects are effectively a local pipeline of internationally funded work, without the usual eligibility barriers that some other funders apply.

Preparing a competitive IsDB bid takes weeks, so start as soon as a relevant notice appears. Practical steps:

1. Read the full project. Open the tender documents and the terms of reference to understand scope, budget, and timeline.
2. Confirm eligibility. Check the member country, experience thresholds, source-country rules, and conflict-of-interest provisions before you commit.
3. Assemble the team early. Identify the experts you will propose and collect their CVs in the format required by the IsDB standard request for proposals.
4. Write to the terms of reference. Map your technical proposal directly to the evaluation criteria.
5. Prepare the financial proposal separately, keeping it consistent with the staffing and inputs in the technical proposal.
6. Submit before the deadline, through the channel named in the notice.

Silka brings live IsDB opportunities together with feeds from the World Bank, ADB, EBRD, AIIB, and UZEX, so you can track them without checking each portal by hand. With Silka you can:

• See active IsDB notices filtered by sector, country, and procurement method.
• Open the original procurement record and tender documents directly from each listing.
• Generate expert CVs in the format required by the IsDB standard request for proposals and assemble technical and financial envelopes.
• Invite independent experts into a specific tender workspace and track readiness against the deadline.