How Kenya Government Tenders Are Evaluated and Scored: What Evaluators Look For in 2026
How your Kenya government tender submission is actually scored. How evaluation committees work, what criteria they use, and how to score maximum points in every section.
Most Kenyan SMEs lose government tenders not because their price was too high or their quality too low — but because they did not understand how the evaluation system works. Kenya's Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act (PPADA) 2015 and its regulations prescribe a specific evaluation methodology: preliminary review (compliance check), then technical evaluation (scored), then financial evaluation (price comparison among technically qualified bidders). Understanding this sequence is the foundation of winning.
The preliminary review stage is binary — pass or fail. Evaluators check: is the bid signed? Are all mandatory documents present (TCC, NSSF, NHIF, company registration)? Is the bid security valid (amount, form, validity period)? Did the bidder attend the mandatory site visit (if any)? Is the bid submitted by the deadline? If any mandatory requirement is missing or non-compliant, the bid is disqualified at this stage — regardless of how strong your technical proposal or price is. This is why compliance preparation before bid day is critical.
The technical evaluation is scored against a predefined criteria schedule published in the tender documents. Typical criteria for service contracts: company profile and experience (20-30 points), key personnel qualifications (20-30 points), methodology and work plan (25-35 points), and equipment/tools (5-15 points). For goods supply: technical specifications compliance, warranty terms, delivery schedule, and after-sales support. The minimum technical score to proceed to financial evaluation is typically 75 out of 100. Score below 75 and your price is never even opened.
The financial evaluation compares prices only among technically qualified bidders. The lowest evaluated price (which may include adjustments for warranty periods, lifecycle costs, or local content scoring) wins the financial evaluation. Price alone does not win a tender — you must be technically qualified first, then price-competitive among qualified bidders. This means a technically strong bid at a fair price beats a technically average bid at the lowest price, if the average bid scores below 75 on technical.
To maximise your evaluation score: read the evaluation criteria table in the tender document and write your technical proposal to match each criterion point by point. Use the exact language from the criteria. Provide evidence for every claim — reference contracts, staff CVs, methodology diagrams, equipment lists with serial numbers. Generic company profiles score low. Tailored proposals that speak directly to the buyer's specific project score high. TenderAI provides you tender analysis tools that highlight the evaluation criteria so you can structure your bid for maximum scoring.