Finance Ministry Unveils Digital Procurement Card for Govt Institutions

ADDIS ABABA – The Ministry of Finance partnered with the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) to launch a Government Procurement Card – the GPC.

Authorities say the card will enable federal government institutions to manage their procurements and expenditures digitally.

More than 170 federal government institutions are currently customers of CBE’s various digital payment platforms.

The GPC was launched with a view to enable government institutions to carry out their procurement processes in a transparent way amid increasing use of digital platforms in Ethiopia.

President of CBE, Abe Sano said the digital payment system is having a significant impact in a short period of time.

At least 60% of the total transactions of the Bank were made through its digital platforms during the 2022/23 fiscal year.

The total value of these transactions was 3.3 trillion birr. The bank will continue to expand its digital payment services with new financial products, Abe said.

Its latest product – the GPC – was unveiled during a workshop that assessed federal government institutions’ digital payment system use.

Per MoF, the government has built a capacity to conduct almost all procurements at the federal level electronically. A majority of its federal institutions utilize digital platforms to carry out 50% or more of their procurements.

State Minister of Finance Eyob Tekalign said the newly launched GPC will be key in ensuring the procurement processes are transparent and reduce financial risks.

The ministry will continue to work with CBE to make this electronic procurement project efficient, he said, urging institutions to onboard the system.