Procurement Platforms
Saudi Tender Platforms: Etimad, NUPCO, Forsah, Tanafos
8 October 2026 · 7 min read · By NextBid Bid Experts
Saudi suppliers find opportunities on four platforms: Etimad, NUPCO, Forsah and Tanafos. Each has its own buyers, registration route and way of submitting offers. Here is how they compare, side by side.
Saudi suppliers can find tenders on four platforms worth watching: Etimad for government entities, NUPCO for unified procurement of medicines, medical devices and medical supplies, Forsah for price-quotation opportunities from government and private buyers, and Tanafos for non-profit organisations. Each platform has its own publishers, registration route and way of submitting offers, so the first job is knowing which of them actually buys what you sell.
This guide sets the four side by side, so you can decide where to register, what to expect on each one, and how to keep watch on all of them without logging in to four sites every day.
How do the four Saudi tender platforms compare?
| Platform | Who publishes, and what | Supplier registration | How offers are submitted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Etimad (اعتماد) | Government entities publish competitions, including limited competitions and direct-purchase invitations. Run by the Ministry of Finance. | A supplier account, then the platform's paid annual subscription for tendering services. | Online: view the competition, buy the tender documents and submit your offer electronically. |
| NUPCO (نوبكو) | NUPCO buys medicines, devices and medical supplies for government health entities, from direct purchases to open framework agreements. | Register on the iNUPCO portal and submit a qualification form that NUPCO reviews. | Online through NUPCO's official channels, after buying the tender documents. |
| Forsah (فرصة) | Government and private buyers post price-quotation requests, which small and medium businesses answer. Provided by HRDF. | A supplier account (Forsah states the service is free), with your sectors approved before you can apply. | Online: submit a price quotation before the opportunity closes. |
| Tanafos (تنافُس) | Non-profit organisations publish purchase requests as competitions. The platform is an intermediary. | Registration is currently free; a booklet fee applies to each competition. | Online: technical and financial offers, which the non-profit evaluates and awards. |
What does Etimad cover?
Etimad is the Ministry of Finance's platform for government procurement. Through its competitions and procurement services, suppliers can view available competitions, receive invitations, buy tender documents and submit bids electronically, after subscribing to those services for a fee. Competitions on Etimad run under the Government Tenders and Procurement Law and its Implementing Regulations, which apply to government entities and set how competitions are published, evaluated and awarded. Our complete guide to Etimad covers registration and the portal, and our explainer on the procurement law covers the rules behind it.
What does NUPCO buy, and how do suppliers get in?
NUPCO is the National Unified Procurement Company for medicines, devices and medical supplies, wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund. It runs unified purchasing for government health sectors, issuing tenders among approved and qualified suppliers and studying the offers through specialised committees. Each tender's page shows its closing and opening dates and the price of the tender documents, and NUPCO's annual tenders plan is announced on the same website.
NUPCO has its own qualification step: you register on its iNUPCO supplier portal and submit a qualification form that NUPCO's team reviews. Its FAQ states that a supplier must be registered and qualified before buying the tender documents, which are paid for through Sadad. Offers are then submitted electronically through NUPCO's official channels. Our NUPCO supplier guide walks through the steps.
What are Forsah and Tanafos?
Forsah: price quotations for small and medium businesses
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Forsah is an electronic service provided by the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) under its Nine Tenths programme. Buyers from the government and private sectors publish requests for price quotations, registered suppliers browse the published opportunities and submit a quotation, and the publisher awards the best one. HRDF lists the service as free of charge. The publisher decides which documents it wants and whether the opportunity closes on a date or after a set number of offers, so on Forsah speed can matter as much as price.
Tanafos: procurement for non-profit organisations
Tanafos is an electronic marketplace where non-profit organisations, such as associations and non-profit institutions, publish purchase requests as competitions, and private-sector suppliers, such as contractors and consultants, submit offers. The platform is an intermediary: the non-profit follows its own approved procurement rules, evaluates the offers and makes the award, and the contract is directly between buyer and supplier. The National Center for Non-Profit Sector Development (NCNP) lists Tanafos in its directory of services for non-profits as a private-sector platform with fees, and states that the directory's services are provided by other parties.
Which platform should you watch first?
- You sell to ministries, authorities and other government entities: start with Etimad, and add NUPCO if your product is medical.
- You supply medicines, devices or medical supplies to government health bodies: NUPCO comes first. Its qualification involves a review by its team, so apply before the tender you want is open.
- You are a small or medium business that can answer a request for a price quotation: Forsah.
- You are a contractor, consultant or service provider with non-profit clients: Tanafos.
How do you watch all four platforms in one place?
Checking four sites separately is how good opportunities get missed, because each platform publishes on its own schedule in its own format. Pulse, NextBid's tender-monitoring subscription (نبض), sends email alerts for new tenders from Etimad, NUPCO, Forsah and Tanafos. The Pulse Pro plan and above include all four sources, instant email alerts, and unlimited sectors, keywords and buying entities. The free plan covers Etimad only, with one sector, up to three keywords and a weekly digest. A 14-day free trial is available.
The four platforms are four separate doors, each with its own buyers, registration and rules. Register where your work is actually bought, and monitor all four so that a closing date never takes you by surprise.
Frequently asked questions
Do all four platforms charge suppliers?
Not in the same way. Etimad requires a paid subscription to its tendering services, and tender documents are bought separately. NUPCO sells its tender documents. Forsah states that its services are free. Tanafos registration is currently free, with a booklet fee for each competition. Check each platform's current terms before you budget.
Do the same rules apply on every platform?
No. The Government Tenders and Procurement Law applies to government entities, so it governs competitions on Etimad. NUPCO's tender booklets refer to its own unified procurement policies and procedures, each Forsah publisher sets its own conditions, and Tanafos publishers follow the procurement rules approved in their organisations. Read the booklet or opportunity terms before you bid.
Do I have to qualify before bidding?
On NUPCO, yes: you must be registered and qualified before you can buy its tender documents. On Forsah, you complete your profile and request your sectors, and a qualified mark appears on the opportunities you can apply for once you are approved. On Etimad and Tanafos, what you must provide is set in each competition's documents.
Who evaluates offers on Tanafos?
The non-profit organisation that published the competition. Tanafos states that it does not evaluate offers or decide awards on the organisation's behalf, and that payment arrangements are settled directly between the organisation and the supplier.
Which of these platforms does Pulse monitor?
Pulse monitors all four, Etimad, NUPCO, Forsah and Tanafos, and delivers its alerts by email. The paid plans include all four sources; the free plan covers Etimad only.
Pulse follows Etimad, NUPCO, Forsah and Tanafos in one email feed, so your team spends its time on bids instead of on checking portals. When a tender is worth pursuing, our bid management team prepares the technical and commercial proposals to the rules of the platform where it was published.