Lesotho Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in lesotho, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Selling to the Public Sector
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Selling to the Government

Foreign firms may fully participate in government procurement but must first register as legal entities, obtain trading licenses, and register with the Revenue Service Lesotho for tax purposes. Lesotho is not a signatory to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement and therefore is not bound by rules prohibiting preferences for locally made products in tenders. In March 2023, the government enacted the Public Procurement Act, which centralized procurement under the newly established Lesotho Public Procurement Authority and created a Central Tender Board to approve or reject bid evaluation recommendations. Previously, procurement was decentralized through the Public Procurement Regulations of 2007 and the 2018 amendment, with each ministry operating its own tender panel. 

The Procurement Policy and Advisory Division (PPAD) under the Ministry of Finance retains overall responsibility for the procurement system. The procurement framework includes margins of preference for local participation: 15 percent for businesses with at least 51 percent Basotho ownership;10 percent for companies with 30–50 percent Basotho ownership, suppliers of Lesotho-origin goods, firms performing at least 50 percent of the contract locally using Basotho staff, subcontractors who allocate at least 50 percent to Basotho businesses, companies using the highest share of local inputs, or those employing the largest share of local labor; and 5 percent for businesses with 10–30 percent Basotho ownership.
 

Key areas of opportunities for tenders include:

  • Infrastructure Development
  • Energy sector
  • Water sector
  • Education
  • Health
  • Tourism

U.S. companies bidding on government tenders may also qualify for U.S. Government advocacy. A unit of the U.S. Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration, the Advocacy Center coordinates U.S. Government interagency advocacy efforts on behalf of U.S. exporters bidding on public sector contracts with international governments and government agencies. The Advocacy Center works closely with our network of the U.S. Commercial Service worldwide and inter-agency partners to ensure that exporters of U.S. products and services have the best possible chance of winning government contracts. Advocacy assistance can take many forms but often involves the U.S. Embassy or other U.S. Government agencies expressing support for the U.S. bidders directly to the foreign government. Consult Advocacy for Foreign Government Contracts for additional information.


Financing of Projects

Commercial banks offer project financing to investors. Lesotho is a recipient of development assistance from the African Development Bank (AfDB. The priorities for $331 million 2025-2030 AfDB’s Country Strategy Paper (CSP) for Lesotho, are infrastructure development, energy, debt management, and institutional capacity building. For more information please visit: https://www.afdb.org/en/countries/southern-africa/lesotho.

Lesotho has received funding from the World Bank through the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), as well as from the European Union and the U.S. Government through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). China has also provided financing through the Export-Import Bank of China. Bank of America is exploring investment opportunities in Lesotho’s energy generation sector.

For additional information, visit the U.S. Department of State Investment Climate Statements.

Multilateral Development Banks and Financing Government Sales. Price, payment terms, and financing often play a critical role in securing government contracts. Many governments fund public works projects through borrowing from Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs). A useful resource is the Guide to Doing Business with the Multilateral Development Banks (PDF). The U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA) maintains Foreign Commercial Service Officers at each of the five major MDBs: the African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Inter-American Development Bank, and the World Bank.

Learn more by contacting the Commercial Liaison Office to the African Development Bank.