By Fund The People Editorial Team. Reviewed 7 October 2026.
Won your first government tender? Fund The People offers its own in-house Tender Funding Solutions and practical supply chain support for qualifying awarded work. Use this guide to move from a compliant bid to an evidenced application, supplier plan and accepted delivery.
The right funding route at each tender stage
Fund The People’s own in-house Tender Funding Solutions support qualifying awarded work. Our Purchase Order Funding Solutions address qualifying supplier costs before delivery, while Invoice Discounting Solutions address eligible unpaid invoices after accepted delivery. The Tender Portal additionally helps you discover opportunities. These services work together, but a tender listing or bid is not an award.
Our funding range is R250,000–R8,000,000+, with a minimum deal size of R250,000 and funding approval within 48 hours for complete qualifying applications. First-time bidders should prepare a delivery budget before bidding and update it against the operative award before applying.
| Your stage | What to prepare | Fund The People route |
|---|---|---|
| Searching and preparing a bid | Official notice, addenda, returnables and supplier cost estimates | Tender Portal and preparation guides |
| Awarded work before delivery | Issued award or order, current quotations and delivery plan | Tender Funding Solutions and Purchase Order Funding Solutions |
| Accepted work awaiting payment | Invoice, acceptance records and outstanding balance | Invoice Discounting Solutions |
Prepare a compliant bid and a deliverable price
Read the issuing buyer’s complete tender document, compulsory briefing requirements, pricing schedules, required declarations and submission instructions. Registration is only part of preparation. The National Treasury explanation of CSD and the e-Tender portal distinguishes supplier information from published procurement opportunities. The specific buyer’s current notice and addenda govern your bid.
Prepare current compliance records. SARS confirms that TCS PIN verification reflects current status at the time it is used. Obtain quotations for the exact specification, then include transport, handling, labour and other required direct inputs. Record what your business can pay itself and what would require a funding assessment.
A first-contract budget you can explain
Illustrative figures only: an awarded order of R600,000 with supplier goods of R420,000 and other direct delivery costs of R45,000 leaves R135,000 before funding charges, overhead and tax. If a hypothetical funding charge were R25,000, the remaining contribution would be R110,000. These figures are not Fund The People pricing, an advance percentage or an offer. Compare the actual written terms against your own budget.
The minimum deal value and assessed funding amount are different figures. Show supplier payment dates and buyer acceptance requirements, not just the selling price. Use the tender cash flow calendar to see where cash is needed before payment. Recalculate the margin if the supplier quotation or awarded specification changes.
Show delivery capability without inventing a track record
A first contract needs credible evidence of who will do the work. Describe the team’s relevant experience, supplier capacity, quality checks and named logistics responsibilities honestly. Explain where you need support. Fund The People provides end-to-end supply chain support with 1,000+ vetted, accredited suppliers, including sourcing, cost negotiation, logistics and order fulfilment coordination.
Fund The People is a preferred funding partner to City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality (CoJ), Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG), Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd (Eskom), Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA), Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) and Rand Water, as confirmed by our CEO. Read our Partners and Ecosystem page for the roles. Each institution retains its procurement and payment decisions.
Prepare the application after award
- Verify the operative award or purchase order through an official buyer contact.
- Reconcile the buyer, legal entity, value, specification and deadline across documents.
- Obtain current supplier quotations, capacity evidence and payment requirements.
- Prepare company, CSD, banking and relevant compliance information.
- Build a dated procurement, quality, delivery, acceptance and invoicing plan.
- Apply through the private Fund The People application route, then review the written costs and conditions.
Keep a version record. A changed order, expired quotation or revised delivery location should reach every party working on the transaction. Review the approval timeline guide before promising payment or dispatch dates.
Frequently asked questions
Can a first-time bidder apply to Fund The People?
A first-time bidder can prepare an enquiry and, once qualifying work is awarded, submit a transaction for assessment. The useful evidence is a genuine awarded order, a suitable buyer, current suppliers, a workable margin and a realistic delivery plan. For the government and municipal purchase-order route, prepare the company and CSD records as well as the operative award and supplier quotations. Explain the business’s actual experience rather than claiming that it has delivered contracts it has not completed. Relevant experience held by team members can be described accurately alongside supplier capacity and operational controls. Fund The People’s own in-house Tender Funding Solutions and Purchase Order Funding Solutions support qualifying awarded work, with a minimum deal size of R250,000. Meeting starting criteria does not make every transaction eligible automatically. Ask what evidence remains outstanding and keep the assessment separate from your bid submission. The buyer decides whether to award the tender; Fund The People assesses the proposed funding transaction. Clear preparation helps both processes, without treating either decision as guaranteed.
Will Fund The People fund the cost of bidding before I win?
The awarded-order funding route should be distinguished from the costs you incur to prepare a bid. Travel to a briefing, document preparation, samples and professional input may be required before the buyer makes any award. An open tender or submitted bid does not establish the confirmed transaction used for a Purchase Order Funding Solutions assessment. Budget those preparation costs using resources you can control and avoid presenting a general funding conversation as committed capital for an unawarded contract. Read the tender’s exact requirements if it asks for evidence of financial capacity or a particular financial instrument; a general website description does not substitute for the required document. Once work is awarded, reconcile the issued order with the price and method submitted in your bid, then update supplier quotations. Bring that current evidence to Fund The People. The distinction protects your business from promising delivery using an assumed award or presumed funding approval, and makes the eventual enquiry more specific and useful.
Does CSD registration mean I will win or receive funding?
CSD registration records supplier information for public procurement; it should not be described as a tender award or funding approval. A buyer evaluates the bid against the requirements of the particular opportunity. Fund The People assesses the awarded transaction against its own service criteria and supporting evidence. Keep the processes distinct in your preparation file. Check company details, relevant compliance information, banking records and the returnable documents requested by the issuing institution. Then verify the actual award, supplier quotation, margin and delivery schedule when applying for awarded-order funding. A current registration record can support a complete application, but it does not establish that the supplier has stock or that the budget includes all required inputs. Use official CSD and buyer channels for registration and procurement instructions, and private Fund The People channels for commercial application documents. If the buyer requires additional sector registration or specific experience, satisfy that requirement directly rather than relying on the existence of a funding discussion or a general supplier registration.
How much funding can a first contract qualify for?
Fund The People’s published Funding Solutions range is R250,000–R8,000,000+, with a minimum deal size of R250,000. The operative order value, eligible supplier costs and assessed funding requirement should be recorded separately. An order with a selling price of R600,000 does not automatically create a R600,000 advance, because its supplier costs, your own contribution and the agreement’s covered inputs may differ. Prepare the actual quotation and a cost schedule, then ask the team to confirm the proposed amount and payment method. Explain freight, installation, labour and other direct costs so exclusions do not create an unexpected cash gap. The assessed amount and written terms apply to the particular transaction, including any conditions before release. Do not treat the upper end of the published range as an approval for your company or the minimum as a promise to fund every cost. A transparent budget shows what must be financed before delivery and how the deal will settle after the buyer pays.
What does approval within 48 hours mean for my first tender?
Fund The People provides funding approval within 48 hours for complete qualifying applications. Prepare the issued award or purchase order, current supplier quotations, relevant company records and a realistic delivery budget so the transaction can be assessed on current evidence. Ask the team to identify any outstanding items rather than assume that a short enquiry form is the complete application. The published approval commitment is separate from signing an agreement, satisfying payment conditions, a supplier receiving funds, manufacturing goods or delivering them. A first-time bidder should put each event on a dated plan and confirm the responsible contact. Do not promise the buyer that a 48-hour approval statement guarantees dispatch or acceptance within the same period. Read the written supplier-payment conditions and obtain the supplier’s actual stock and lead-time confirmation. When a quotation expires or an order changes, send the revised evidence promptly. The practical objective is a sequence that can meet the buyer’s deadline using confirmed dates and clear responsibilities throughout fulfilment.
Can Fund The People help find suppliers for my awarded tender?
Yes. Fund The People provides end-to-end supply chain support alongside its own in-house Funding Solutions, with a network of 1,000+ vetted, accredited suppliers. Discuss the goods, specifications, quantities, location and delivery dates when you submit the awarded transaction. The team can help with supplier sourcing, cost negotiation, logistics and order fulfilment coordination. A network gives you a route to discuss suitable capability; availability, commercial terms and the exact product still need to be confirmed for the particular order. Ask the supplier to quote against the operative buyer specification, and establish whether substitutions require buyer approval. Keep transport, handling, warranty and acceptance responsibilities visible in the budget. Vetted, accredited suppliers and order fulfilment companies register through the Fund The People Tender Portal. Registration should be distinguished from an allocation of guaranteed work. For a first contract, name the person who will check the goods and collect buyer acceptance evidence so the support is connected to a delivery plan the business can actually execute.
What if my tender is for services rather than supplied goods?
Describe the actual cost pattern before assuming that a product name fits the contract. A services order may require wages, subcontractors, equipment, materials or staged performance over several months, while a supply-and-delivery order may have a concentrated supplier purchase before dispatch. These cash needs and acceptance milestones should be shown separately. Bring the awarded contract, scope, payment terms and a dated cost schedule to the Fund The People team, then ask which inputs can be assessed under the relevant Funding Solutions route. Do not assume that every cost is covered simply because the buyer is a government institution. Read the proposed amount, exclusions, release conditions and settlement obligations in the written terms. Where invoicing occurs after accepted milestones, show the evidence for each completed stage and disclose any existing funding commitments. A first-time bidder also needs to demonstrate the operational capacity to perform the service. A clear funding enquiry supports the delivery plan, while the contract’s performance and procurement requirements remain the responsibility of the relevant parties.
Can I use Fund The People’s preferred partner relationships in my bid?
Describe a relationship only as it is actually documented and relevant to your business. Fund The People is a preferred funding partner to the six institutions named on its Partners and Ecosystem page, as confirmed by its CEO. This supports Fund The People’s work with qualifying businesses in those institutional relationships; it does not make your own company a preferred supplier or guarantee that it will win an institution’s tender. The issuing buyer retains its procurement and payment decisions. If your bid requires a specific letter, financial undertaking or evidence of resources, obtain the exact document required through the proper process. Do not substitute a screenshot of Fund The People’s partner logos or a general website statement. Keep the legal entity, transaction reference, scope and any conditions clear in the document you submit. After award, discuss whether the relationship can assist relevant verification or coordination. Presenting each party’s role accurately protects the integrity of the bid and gives the funding team a precise basis for considering the transaction.
What should I do if the awarded price differs from my bid?
Compare the issued award and operative contract with the final bid before accepting supplier commitments. A changed quantity, unit rate, delivery location or scope can alter the cash requirement and remaining margin. Obtain an authorised explanation from the buyer and check which document governs the actual work. Update supplier quotations and the cost schedule using the revised specification, then show the Fund The People team the difference. Do not assess the transaction using the original selling price when the buyer will pay a different amount. Freight, installation and other direct inputs may also change with the revised scope. Keep both versions in the file, marking the superseded assumptions clearly. Ask what needs to be reassessed if an existing funding offer was based on the earlier order. The supplier and fulfilment lead should receive the same operative version used for the application. A first contract is easier to manage when commercial changes are resolved before purchase rather than discovered after goods have been delivered.
How do I protect the margin on my first funded tender?
Build the budget from actual supplier quotations and the buyer’s operative specification. Separate the selling price, eligible supplier purchases, other direct delivery costs, your own cash contribution and proposed funding charges. Add the costs needed to obtain acceptance and submit a correct invoice, since incomplete delivery records can delay settlement. Ask for the full written funding cost under the expected buyer payment date and a later-payment scenario. Hypothetical examples in this guide illustrate arithmetic rather than Fund The People pricing. Check which expenses the proposed arrangement excludes and whether your business can pay them at the required time. Use Fund The People’s supply chain support to discuss sourcing and cost negotiation, while retaining the required quality and specification. When a supplier changes price or transport becomes more expensive, update the budget immediately. A low tender price is not commercially useful if the contract cannot be delivered at that price. Keep sufficient contribution for overhead and the obligations your company accepts, then make the decision using the actual written transaction terms.
Discuss your awarded order with Fund The People. Apply for our own Funding Solutions with the buyer documents, supplier quotations and a dated delivery plan.