The verdict in three sentences
For a London engineering consultancy chasing donor-funded work in Africa and Asia, the website serves first the funders' evaluators and the client ministries, who check references before shortlisting. References sorted by funder, project sheets with GPS coordinates and downloadable expert CVs shorten expression of interest preparation and strengthen bids for contracts of £200,000 to £5 million. Kolonell builds this website for 800,000 to 3,500,000 FCFA (1,220 to 5,340 EUR) depending on the Starter, Growth or Premium tier, in 6 to 8 weeks.
What evaluators and client ministries check
Consultancy contracts funded by the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the FCDO, the EU or the Asian Development Bank follow strict procedures: request for expressions of interest, a shortlist of 6 to 8 firms, then a request for proposals scored on technical quality and cost. At each stage, an evaluator or a ministry project manager searches your firm's name. If they find a generic corporate page, your bid loses weight against a competitor showing 300 searchable references.
Expression of interest criteria are well known: general experience, similar assignments over the last five to ten years, technical capacity and key staff. The website should mirror that grid exactly.
| Evaluation criterion | What the evaluator looks for | Content to publish |
|---|---|---|
| Similar assignments | Comparable projects by size and type | Project sheets filterable by sector and funder |
| Experience with the funder | Contracts delivered under its rules | References sorted by World Bank, AfDB, FCDO, EU, ADB |
| Project location | Field knowledge | GPS coordinates and region on each sheet |
| Key staff | Qualifications and years of experience | Expert CVs in funder format, downloadable |
| Technical capacity | Software, labs, survey equipment | Technical resources page |
| Quality and safeguards | ISO certification, environmental and social policy | Quality and safeguards page |
| Financial standing | Average turnover over 3 years | Key figures page with headcount and volumes |
One precaution: in fragile or conflict-affected countries, round the coordinates of sensitive assets to district level and validate the list with the client before publishing.
The economic weight of one contract won
The amounts below are orders of magnitude for 2026 on donor-funded consultancy markets. They show that a website improving the shortlist success rate even slightly pays for itself with the first contract.
| Assignment type | Value (order of magnitude 2026) | Typical duration |
|---|---|---|
| Feasibility and detailed design, 50 km road | £400,000 to £1,500,000 | 6 to 12 months |
| Construction supervision of road works | £1,000,000 to £5,000,000 | 18 to 36 months |
| Rural water supply study | £200,000 to £800,000 | 4 to 9 months |
| Environmental and social impact assessment | £150,000 to £500,000 | 3 to 6 months |
| Owner's engineer or project management support | £300,000 to £1,200,000 | 12 to 24 months |
| Road safety audit | £80,000 to £250,000 | 2 to 4 months |
Time saved matters too. A consultancy responding to 50 expressions of interest a year often spends 6 to 10 hours gathering references, completion certificates and CVs for each. A maintained project database on the website becomes the single source for these submissions. Key expert day rates in these markets typically range from £700 to £1,500.
What the website costs: London market versus Kolonell
The site is organised around a reference catalogue and an expert directory, with pages by sector: roads, bridges, water, sanitation, public buildings.
| Option | Budget (order of magnitude 2026) | What you get | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| London B2B agency | £25,000 to £70,000 | Custom design, project database | 3 to 5 months |
| UK freelancer | £5,000 to £12,000 | Template site, basic project list | 6 to 10 weeks |
| Kolonell Starter | 800,000 to 1,200,000 FCFA (1,220 to 1,830 EUR) | 5 pages, flagship references | 6 to 8 weeks |
| Kolonell Growth | 1,200,000 to 2,000,000 FCFA (1,830 to 3,050 EUR) | Project sheets by sector and funder, downloadable CVs, blog, analytics | 6 to 8 weeks |
| Kolonell Premium | 2,000,000 to 3,500,000 FCFA (3,050 to 5,340 EUR) | Full reference catalogue, expert pages, advanced animations, in-depth SEO | 6 to 8 weeks |
| Kolonell simple application | 2,500,000 to 4,000,000 FCFA (3,810 to 6,100 EUR) | Interactive project map or funder-format reference generator | Quoted at scoping |
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
Languages are set in the quote, useful for Francophone African clients and French-speaking evaluators. Maintenance costs 53, 114 or 183 EUR per month. Kolonell's base in Dakar gives the team direct knowledge of West African donor-funded markets.
Mini case study
Working scenario: Helen Carter, business development director of a 60-engineer consultancy in London, chooses the Growth tier at 3,050 EUR with Standard maintenance at 114 EUR per month.
First-year cost: 3,050 + (114 × 12) = 4,418 EUR.
Time saved: 50 expressions of interest a year, 6 hours saved on each thanks to export-ready project sheets, which is 300 engineer hours. At an internal cost of £65 per hour, the saving reaches £19,500.
Commercial gain: if the website helps win one extra design contract worth £600,000 at a 12 % margin, the firm earns £72,000. The time saving alone covers the project several times over, and the extra contract multiplies the return.
FAQ
Do funders really look at consultancy websites? Evaluators often check declared references, and a structured site makes that easier. On a shortlist of 6 to 8 firms, a strong online presence separates you from a competitor with no visible track record.
Can we publish our experts' CVs? Yes, with their written consent and in a light version without ID details or personal contacts. The full CV in funder format is sent on request, usually within 24 h.
Should we show contract values? Use bands, such as £500,000 to £1 million, rather than exact amounts, especially when contracts include confidentiality clauses.
How do we keep the catalogue up to date? Plan one sheet per completed project, around 15 to 20 a year for a firm this size. With the delivered CMS, a bid coordinator publishes a sheet in about 20 minutes.
What timeline should we plan? Allow 6 to 8 weeks, including 2 weeks to gather references, completion certificates and site photographs.
Let's scope your project. We structure your references by funder, your project sheets and your expert directory, with a 6 to 8 week plan. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
