NeST Carbon Credits

Driving Climate-Friendly Procurement via Digital Governance and Carbon Finance

Project Overview

The National e-Procurement System of Tanzania (NeST), operated by Tanzania’s Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA), replaces paper-based procurement value chain with  a secure end-to-end digital platform (e-registration, e-tendering, e-contracts, e-payment, e-auction, and cloud archiving). By cutting paper use, courier trips, in-person meetings, and optimising workflows; NeST reduces greenhouse gas emissions as emphasized in the Tanzania Vision 2050 while boosting transparency and value for money in public spending. The project aims to register NeST on the carbon market to monetise verified CO₂e reductions and reinvest proceeds into scale-up and continuous improvement.

Challenge

Across ministries, departments, agencies, and LGAs, legacy procurement was paper-intensive and travel-heavy. Typical processes required:

• Printing thousands of pages per tender and couriering submissions
• Frequent committee meetings and supplier travel
• Physical archiving and storage.

This created avoidable costs, delays, and a sizeable carbon footprint (paper production/disposal, fuel for transport, and office electricity).

 

Solution

NeST digitises procurement nationwide across Tanzania’s 26 regions:

• Electronic tendering  (no physical deliveries)
• Electronic contract management (faster, auditable, no physical documents)
• Cloud-based records (secure, searchable, minimal storage)
• Reduced travel through virtual workflows.

Residual emissions (server energy, end-user devices, and data transmission) are monitored and kept lower than the baseline. A rigorous Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system quantifies net CO₂e savings.

 

Development Impact (Co-benefits)

• Governance & Integrity: Full audit trails, fewer malpractice opportunities, faster oversight.
• Cost & Time Savings: Lower spend on printing, storage, courier services, and travel.
• Service Quality: Faster awards and contract execution; improved supplier access (incl. SMEs, women- and youth-led firms).
• Digital Economy: Strengthens national e-government infrastructure and skills.
• Climate Leadership: Supports SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 16 (Governance). Sets a regional model for EAC and SADC peers.

 

What’s Next for NeST?

1. Project Design Document (PDD): Finalise baseline, boundaries and quantification parameters.
2. Validation & Listing: Submit to the selected standard; align issuance with the National Carbon Registry and NCMC requirements.
3. First Issuance: Target first tranche of verified credits after third-party verification of the initial crediting period.
4. Scale & Optimisation: Accelerate paperless modules, pursue greener data-centre options to further lower project emissions.

 

Scale & Beneficiaries

• Coverage: Nationwide public procurement (26 regions) using NeST
• Direct Users: Procurement practictioners, auditors and economic operators
• Indirect Beneficiaries: Citizens via better value for money and faster service delivery

 

Meet our team

Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA): Project Owner & Lead Implementer

National Carbon Monitoring Centre (NCMC)

Vice-President’s Office (VPO)

Ministry of Finance (MoF)

e-Government Authority (e-GA)

 

Contact us

Director General,

Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA),

Tambukareli Dodoma,

3 Ununuzi Street,

P.O. Box 2865,

41104 DODOMA,

TANZANIA

Email Address: dg@ppra.go.tz

Phone: +255 (0)26 296 3854

 

SURVEY