A delegation from DevelopmentAid recently attended the Asian Development Bank European Roadshow in Madrid, an important gathering for Spanish consultancies working in the development sector. The team spent the day attending ADB presentations and engaging with current and future DevelopmentAid members, to stay at the forefront of emerging trends and shifts in the bank’s procurement practices impacting the sector.
Spanish consultancies were encouraged by the ADB to apply for assignments funded by the bank, as their engagement rate remains relatively low ranging between 5% and 9%, despite an increasing number of the submitted Expressions of Interest (EOIs).
ADB provided some valuable insights for winning strategies, highlighting among others the importance of building strong networks, collecting relevant business intelligence, forming partnerships with firms likely to be shortlisted.
“This event reinforced once again how important it is to build strong joint ventures when targeting ADB-funded projects” noted Sanda Mihailov, Deputy Director of Business Development, Operations, and Product Excellence at DevelopmentAid. “As highlighted by Sharlene Shillingford-McKlmon, ADB’s principal procurement specialist, partnerships play a key role in increasing the chances of success, especially in such a competitive environment. And this is exactly what DevelopmentAid provides – a platform to build strong partnerships”.
ADB also revealed the bank’s operational priorities in 2025, suggesting a similar pattern for 2026. Thus, out of the total operations of US$29.3 billion in 2025, the largest shares were allocated to the Finance sector, Transportation, Public sector management, Energy, and Agriculture and rural development.
DevelopmentAid’s team was delighted to see that three out of the top five-performing consultancies involved in ADB-funded projects over the past five years are members of our platform: IDOM Consulting, Engineering, Architecture, Eptisa, and Global Factor.
“It was a pleasure to attend yet another ADB event, this time co-organized with ICEX, whose team was extremely supportive and helpful throughout our registration process” said Sumit Manwani, Senior Business Development Manager, LAC Representative at DevelopmentAid. “The new merit points criteria shared by the ADB were particularly valuable and thought-provoking. We were also delighted to see such a strong presence of our members at the event—and even prouder to recognize that many of them are among the top Spanish contractors involved in ADB-funded projects.”
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) roadshow in Madrid, Spain, took place on March 26, 2026.
As the world’s leading provider of information systems in the sustainable development sector, DevelopmentAid regularly attends seminars, conferences, and other professional gatherings to dialogue with members, stay close to market trends, and better understand the evolving needs of consulting firms, contractors, suppliers, institutions, and other organizations that are active participants in implementing donor-funded projects, including the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
