Local content: what the 2023 law changes for your purchasing.
A plain-language explainer, and what working with a 100% Malian supplier brings to your supply plan.
The concept
A priority filter in the award of mining contracts.
Local content is the share of a mine’s purchasing, jobs and skills that goes to the country’s economy.
The diagram sums up the mechanism. Supply contracts and tenders in the mining sector first pass through a Malian priority filter: transport and supply chain, subcontracting, and the employment and training of the local workforce. International vendors come second, where local capacity is lacking.
What Mali’s law says
Mali’s 2023 Local Content Act governs how mining companies buy goods and services. Three points matter to a buyer:
- Priority to Malian companies in mine supply, at comparable quality, price and lead time.
- Definition of a local company: at least 51% Malian capital, with a Malian beneficial owner.
- Foreign suppliers: they must include Malian ownership (35%) or partner with Malian firms to qualify.
Smartek and local content
What a 100% Malian supplier means
Smartek Solutions Sarl is 100% Malian-owned. In practice, for an operator:
- your purchases from Smartek count toward the Malian share of your supply plan;
- you do not need to set up a partnership to meet the ownership threshold;
- the ownership statement and beneficial owner are in our vendor pack;
- our signed supplier code of conduct applies to our own suppliers.
Any registration formalities the administration may require are being confirmed with our counsel.
What about Senegal?
In Senegal, Law No. 2019-04 governs local content in the hydrocarbons sector. Decree No. 2023-990 extends the national local-content monitoring framework to mining. We will follow this framework for any future activity in Senegal.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is Smartek Solutions a Malian company?
Yes. Smartek Solutions Sarl is a company under Malian law, based in Bamako, and 100% Malian-owned.
What ownership threshold does the 2023 law set?
A local company has at least 51% Malian capital and a Malian beneficial owner. Have your counsel confirm how it applies to you.
How do you evidence your ownership?
With an ownership statement and identification of the beneficial owner, included in the vendor pack.
Do you work in Senegal?
Our corridors run through Dakar. Activity in Senegal will be with a local partner; we do not claim any Senegalese registration at this time.