Written by Kibo Ngowi

CMD Transparency, a team of innovative young minds from Zambia, has developed a groundbreaking solution to combat corruption in the tender procurement process. The team consists of Chief Operations Officer Nathan Chisanga, Chief Financial Officer Kunda Sakala, and Chief Technology Officer Samuel Wakumelo, all of whom are fourth year computer science students in Zambia’s capital Lusaka. 

They developed their solution during HackCorruption, a tech4good hackathon organized by Accountability Lab in collaboration with the Center for International Private Enterprise and the U.S. Department of State: Bureau of International Narcotics & Law Enforcement (INL) in July 2022. The hackathon aimed to co-create anti-corruption solutions in Southern and East Africa, and CMD Transparency emerged as one of the winning teams, receiving funding and support to develop their idea.

The CMD Transparency team’s innovation addresses the pervasive problem of corruption, specifically in the tender procurement space. Samuel Wakumelo explains, “Our initiative consists of a platform where people can see this data that’s published by normal tendering platforms and monitor the progress of whichever contractor has been contracted to work on a particular project.” 

The platform provides a user-friendly interface where tenders are sorted by government ministry, allowing users to easily find and track the progress of tenders they are interested in. Users can also provide feedback on the progress they have witnessed, ensuring transparency in the entire tender process.

Nathan Chisanga highlights the importance of transparency in the tender process, stating, “The main challenge our innovation seeks to solve is the problem of corruption. And this is a widespread problem across the world, especially in Africa.” Kunda Sakala adds, “You can find any tender that you are searching for. Every detail is actually recorded there. And the tenders are presented in a format that’s easy to navigate, rather than the format you would find on most government portals.”

The CMD Transparency team has ambitious plans for the future. Nathan Chisanga explains, “For our prototype, we intend on starting in South Africa, and see how best it works there. So if it’s a success in South Africa, we are going to expand to Zambia, to Kenya, to Zimbabwe, to Namibia, and to every country in Africa that will be able to make use of this technology.” Kunda Sakala adds, “With the support we received through HackCorruption, we’ve been able to develop our idea into a viable initiative. We are now a registered company – CMD transparency – and our aim is to build tech solutions that can be used to actually enhance democratic governance.”

The CMD Transparency team’s innovative solution to corruption has the potential to revolutionize the tender procurement process in Africa, promoting transparency and accountability. With their plans for expansion and commitment to enhancing democratic governance, CMD Transparency is poised to make a lasting impact in the fight against corruption.

Meet the CMD Transparency team here.

Kibo Ngowi