- TSC has reserved a motor vehicle and motorcycle insurance tender exclusively for eligible women-owned enterprises.
- Interested bidders have until September 22, 2026, at 10am to submit their applications.
- The opportunity forms part of procurement measures designed to increase women’s participation in government contracting.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has opened a major government procurement opportunity exclusively to women-owned enterprises, inviting female entrepreneurs to bid for the provision of private motor vehicle and motorcycle insurance services.
The tender, which is restricted to eligible women bidders, closes on September 22, 2026, at 10am, giving women-owned insurance firms a limited window to prepare and submit their bids.
The opportunity covers insurance services for the Commission’s fleet of motor vehicles and motorcycles. The insurance is expected to protect TSC assets against a range of risks, including accidents, theft, fire and third-party liabilities.
The Commission has directed interested firms to obtain the tender documents through the Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP Kenya) system, the government’s online platform for public procurement.
Women-owned enterprises interested in the contract must also forward their particulars to TSC Supply Chain Management Services. The required information includes the name of the firm, physical or postal address, name of the tender being applied for, telephone number and email address.
The move places women entrepreneurs at the centre of a public procurement opportunity that would ordinarily attract competition from a much wider pool of businesses.
TSC’s decision is anchored in Kenya’s public procurement framework, which provides for preferences and reservations aimed at increasing participation by disadvantaged groups in government contracting.
The Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015, requires procurement planning to reserve at least 30 per cent of budgetary allocations for enterprises owned by women, youth, persons with disabilities and other disadvantaged groups.
While open competitive tendering remains a standard approach to government procurement, specific contracts can be reserved for targeted groups. PPRA guidance indicates that procuring entities determine which particular tenders are reserved within the broader allocation.
This means that where a tender is explicitly designated for women-owned enterprises, competition for that procurement opportunity is restricted to businesses satisfying the stipulated eligibility requirements.
The framework is also linked to Article 227 of the Constitution, which requires public procurement to be fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective while providing for preferences and protections for disadvantaged groups.
AGPO requirement
For women-owned businesses seeking to benefit from reserved government tenders, registration under the Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) framework is important.
AGPO is designed to facilitate the participation of women, youth and persons with disabilities in government procurement. To qualify as a women-owned enterprise under the framework, a legal entity must have at least 70 per cent membership by women and 100 per cent women leadership.
The TSC tender therefore provides an opportunity for qualifying women-owned enterprises in the insurance industry to compete for a government contract within the reserved procurement framework.
The Commission has indicated that bidders must meet the stipulated requirements and submit their tender documents through the designated e-GP Kenya system before the deadline.
TSC has also advertised another insurance opportunity, although it has taken a different approach.
The Commission has invited bids for comprehensive group personal accident and work injury benefits cover for its commissioners and secretariat staff for a period of one year.
Unlike the motor vehicle and motorcycle insurance tender, the group personal accident and work injury benefits cover is an open tender.
This means eligible firms can compete for the contract without the women-only restriction attached to the motor vehicle and motorcycle insurance tender.
The two tenders demonstrate how public institutions can use both open competition and reserved procurement to meet different government contracting objectives.
For women-owned insurance firms, the immediate focus will now be on the September 22 deadline.
Eligible businesses must ensure their documentation is complete, their AGPO status and other qualifications are in order, and their bids are submitted through the prescribed procurement system before 10am on September 22.
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The tender could provide a significant opportunity for women-owned enterprises seeking to expand their presence in Kenya’s public procurement market.
By Hillary Muhalya
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Teachers Service Commission headquarters in Nairobi. The Commission has invited eligible women-owned enterprises to bid for the provision of motor vehicle and motorcycle insurance services. Photo: Courtesy
