Ghana operates a central electronic procurement portal, GHANEPS, run by the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), through which public entities publish tenders and suppliers, contractors and consultants register, receive notifications, access documents and submit bids online. GHANEPS is being rolled out as the mandatory channel for public procurement and supplier registration on it is free. Foreign (non-Ghanaian) companies MAY bid directly: the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663) expressly provides for International Competitive Tendering in which foreign firms are invited (s.45), and qualification requirements apply equally to all tenderers regardless of nationality (s.22). The genuine constraints are (1) a statutory margin of domestic preference in evaluation (s.60) that advantages Ghanaian/local-content suppliers by roughly 15-20%; (2) the practical reality, per the U.S. trade.gov Country Commercial Guide (SECONDARY, citing a WTO assessment), that fewer than 1% of Ghanaian tenders are internationally competitive - most use national or restricted methods reserved for or dominated by local firms; and (3) a separate, non-procurement requirement that ANY enterprise with foreign participation must establish a local legal presence and register with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) before carrying on business in Ghana. Because open international tenders are rare and local-content preference applies, foreign firms are commonly advised to partner with a local company.
Ghana Electronic Procurement System (GHANEPS)
Public Procurement Authority (PPA)
Foreign companies eligibleNo local entity required to bid
For PROCUREMENT ELIGIBILITY, a local entity is NOT a statutory precondition to bid: Act 663 s.45 contemplates international competitive tenders open to foreign firms and s.22 applies qualification requirements equally to all tenderers regardless of nationality. However, TWO real constraints operate: (A) a margin of domestic preference (s.60) favours suppliers meeting local-content requirements by ~15-20% in evaluation, and the Act 914 'domestic contractor' definition (for the works preference) requires incorporation in Ghana with majority Ghanaian shareholding and =10% Ghanaian equity), USD 500,000 (wholly foreign-owned non-trading) and USD 1,000,000 plus 20 Ghanaian employees (trading). This establishment requirement bites when a foreign winner performs the contract in Ghana, not as a gate to submitting a bid; many foreign firms therefore team with a local partner or incorporate locally. NOTE: GIPC capital thresholds and any pending 2023-2026 GIPC/GIPA reform must be human-verified as of the retrieval date. local_entity_required is set FALSE because it is not a hard bar to bidding; the establishment obligation is captured here and in teaming_notes.
Create an account and register your organisation on the Ghana Electronic Procurement System (GHANEPS), the central portal on which public entities publish tenders. Registration is free and enables you to receive tender notifications, obtain full access to published tender documents, submit clarification requests, and submit bids online. Foreign firms may register to participate in international competitive tenders; qualification requirements under Act 663 s.22 apply equally regardless of nationality. A supplier-registration walkthrough is published on the GHANEPS site; a human should confirm the current form and document list on the live portal.
PPA maintains supplier registration/qualification requirements under Section 22 of Act 663 as amended; per the Ministry of Finance notice, government entities are directed not to do business with unregistered suppliers, and PPA issues a certificate on successful registration. The historical standalone 'Centralised Supplier Database' (2018 notice) predates the GHANEPS rollout; the current relationship between that database and GHANEPS supplier registration should be confirmed directly with PPA, since GHANEPS is intended to be the single channel.
Tender invitations are published on GHANEPS, the PPA website, the Public Procurement Bulletin, at least one national daily newspaper, and (for international competitive tenders) internationally. Registered suppliers receive notifications. Confirm each opportunity's method: national competitive tendering (s.44) may be restricted to domestic suppliers, while international competitive tendering (s.45) is open to foreign firms. Note the margin of domestic preference (s.60, ~15-20%) applied in evaluation. IMPORTANT anti-fraud: verify any tender's legitimacy directly on GHANEPS/PPA before engaging and never pay 'advance fees' - the U.S. Commercial Service identified 16 fraudulent entities in Ghana in 2024.
Prepare and submit your bid online through GHANEPS per the tender documents. A foreign firm may bid directly but bids at an evaluation disadvantage versus qualifying domestic suppliers because of the s.60 margin of preference. If you win and will perform the contract in Ghana, you must establish a local legal presence: register with the Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC) and then the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) before carrying on business (GIPC Act 2013, Act 865), including meeting minimum-capital thresholds. Many foreign firms pre-empt this by teaming with, or incorporating with, a local partner.
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Create free accountGHANEPS supplier registration is free. If local establishment is required (contract performed in Ghana), GIPC minimum-capital thresholds reported by trade.gov are ~USD 200,000 (JV with >=10% Ghanaian equity), USD 500,000 (wholly foreign-owned non-trading) and USD 1,000,000 + 20 Ghanaian employees (trading); ORC/GIPC fees additional. Specific fee schedules not verified on official sources here; GIPC thresholds may change under pending reform.
Varies per tender — not a fixed registration time.
Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663) as amended by the Public Procurement (Amendment) Act, 2016 (Act 914). Key sections: s.22 qualification of tenderers (requirements apply equally to all tenderers); s.44 national competitive tendering (used where the entity decides only domestic suppliers may tender); s.45 international competitive tendering (used where effective competition requires inviting foreign firms); s.60 margin of domestic preference in evaluation. Foreign-investor establishment is governed separately by the GIPC Act, 2013 (Act 865). Primary text hosted by PPA (https://ppa.gov.gh/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Public-Procurement-Act-2003-Act-663.pdf) and the Ghana Legal Information Institute (https://ghalii.org/akn/gh/act/2016/914/eng@2016-05-12/source.pdf).
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This guide is grounded in official sources, last verified 2026-07-21.