The Rules Are Changing for Government Tenders - Here's What South African SMEs Need to Know

South Africa's public procurement system is in the middle of its biggest overhaul in decades. The Public Procurement Act 28 of 2024 has been signed into law, draft regulations were published for comment in April 2026, and amended B-BBEE Codes gazetted in January 2026 introduce a proposed Transformation Fund and adjusted procurement targets. 

Johannesburg-based tender funder BizFunding says SMEs who get ahead of these changes now stand to benefit but compliance alone won't be enough.

A Once-in-a-Generation Rewrite of Procurement Law

The Public Procurement Act consolidates a previously fragmented set of procurement rules, including the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act and various Treasury regulations, into a single framework, with stated goals of reducing corruption and improving opportunities for local businesses and SMMEs.

Its draft regulations and the amended B-BBEE Codes published alongside them, remain under public comment and review. The exact detail of implementation is still taking shape.

What SMEs Still Need to Get Right

Regardless of how the final regulations settle, BizFunding notes that the fundamentals of tender readiness are not going away: a valid Central Supplier Database (CSD) profile, current SARS tax compliance status, up-to-date CIPC filings and an accredited B-BBEE certificate or affidavit remain the entry ticket to public-sector work. 

Preference points, allocated under the existing 80/20 or 90/10 scoring system, continue to reward B-BBEE status alongside price and functionality. This means compliance paperwork now carries real, quantifiable value in a bid.

“We tell SMEs the same thing every time new procurement rules come in,” says a Bizfunding spokesperson. “Getting your compliance documents in order is necessary, but it only gets you to the starting line. We’ve seen well-qualified, fully compliant businesses win a tender and then stall completely because nobody thought about how they’d actually fund delivery. Compliance and capital have to be sorted out together, not one after the other.”

Compliant, But Not Capitalised

BizFunding says this gap between being legally eligible to bid and being financially able to deliver is where many otherwise strong SMEs fall short, particularly first-time government suppliers unfamiliar with 30-to-90-day payment cycles.

Its tender and purchase order funding model is designed to sit alongside compliance, not replace it: once a business has secured a tender or purchase order, funding can be arranged in three to five days, with suppliers paid directly and repayment only due once the client is paid.

Why It Matters Now

With regulations still being finalised and the procurement landscape shifting under SMEs' feet, BizFunding is encouraging small businesses to treat funding readiness as part of their compliance checklist, not an afterthought so that when opportunities open up under the new framework, they're able to say yes.

About BizFunding

BizFunding is a South African business funding partner specialising in tender funding and purchase order financing for small and medium enterprises. BizFunding partners with its clients on a profit-sharing basis, funding suppliers directly and being repaid only once the client is paid by the end user. 

BizFunding offers funding from R50,000 to R2 million. The company is based in Johannesburg and funds businesses across South Africa.