The seventh African Procurement and Supply Chain Summit has recognised the Chief Executive Officer of the Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC), Lucy Abagi as the Procurement Transparency Advocate of the Year.

She was recognised for her outstanding leadership and unwavering commitment to promoting open contracting and accountability in public procurement across Nigeria and Africa.

The award further recognised her instrumental role in advancing procurement transparency through technology, policy advocacy, and citizen engagement.

In a statement, the Centre’s Communications Manager, Nnenna Eze said that under Abagi’s leadership, PPDC continues to emerge as a trailblazer in driving reforms that make public contracting more inclusive, accessible, and responsive to citizens.

It stated that at the heart of PPDC’s work is Budeshi, Nigeria’s first Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) platform that enables the public to track government contracts from planning to implementation, helping communities monitor service delivery in real-time.

It said the innovation has been adopted in over seven states, including Kaduna, Ekiti, Anambra, Plateau, Adamawa, and the FCT, transforming how public funds are tracked and used, with over 14,000 procurement records published via the platform.

Reeling from its impact in the last three years, it said PPDC is launching a $200 small grant fund for local organisations to monitor procurement processes in their states.

According to it, the initiative will fuel grassroots-led monitoring efforts and advance procurement accountability nationwide. The statement explained that the grant applications open on July 31, 2025, exclusively via the upgraded Budeshi portal and powered by Devon Technologies Limited.