Innocent Forteh

Innocent Forteh serves as a key procurement and program support professional within the U.S. Agency for International Development/West Africa Regional Office, where he plays a critical role in advancing the agency’s mission of building institutional capacity across West Africa. He manages the acquisition of high-impact technical assistance services, including program design, monitoring and evaluation frameworks, and cross-cutting advisory support in governance, public health, climate resilience, and economic development. His work ensures that USAID’s regional objectives are met through strategically awarded contracts that align with U.S. foreign assistance priorities and local stakeholder needs. Forteh collaborates with a diverse array of international and local implementers, including technical service providers, research institutions, and regional consulting firms specializing in development programming. His procurement approach emphasizes performance-based contracting and outcome-driven deliverables, fostering long-term partnerships with vendors capable of delivering adaptive, context-sensitive solutions. He frequently engages with firms that have demonstrated expertise in capacity-building initiatives and local stakeholder engagement, ensuring that procurement outcomes are both technically rigorous and culturally grounded. Forteh’s contracting patterns reflect a strong preference for open competition, with 100% of acquisitions issued under non-set-aside mechanisms. While he does not routinely utilize socioeconomic set-asides such as 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB programs, his procurement strategy prioritizes technical merit, local participation, and institutional sustainability over socioeconomic classifications. He actively encourages qualified small and medium-sized enterprises—both U.S.-based and West African—to compete for opportunities through transparent, merit-based evaluation criteria. His primary procurement focus lies in NAICS categories related to management consulting, scientific and technical consulting services, and research and development in the social sciences. He regularly acquires services in monitoring and evaluation, institutional strengthening, data systems design, and climate adaptation planning, reflecting deep expertise in development program lifecycle management and evidence-based decision-making.