Mama J. Traore

Mama J. Traore serves as an Acquisition and Assistance Specialist at USAID/Mali, where she plays a pivotal role in executing the agency’s mission to advance sustainable development through strategic procurement and assistance mechanisms. She manages the full lifecycle of non-procurement instruments and competitive contracts, primarily focused on professional, scientific, and technical services that support institutional capacity building, education initiatives, and gender equity programs. Her work ensures alignment with USAID’s strategic priorities, including the empowerment of local institutions and the protection of girls’ education, while adhering to federal acquisition regulations and U.S. government assistance policies. Traore collaborates with a diverse array of international and local implementers, including technical service providers, research institutions, and civil society organizations, to deliver high-impact development outcomes. While no specific contractor relationships are currently identifiable in the dataset, her procurement patterns reflect a preference for firms with demonstrated expertise in governance, education systems strengthening, and humanitarian response. She fosters collaborative partnerships grounded in performance-based outcomes and local ownership, prioritizing organizations with deep contextual knowledge of Mali’s socio-political landscape. Traore’s contracting portfolio reflects a 100% preference for open, non-set-aside competitions, indicating a focus on merit-based selection rather than socioeconomic set-asides. This approach underscores a strategic emphasis on technical excellence and programmatic impact over socioeconomic categorization, consistent with USAID’s global emphasis on results-driven assistance in complex operating environments. Her primary procurement focus is on NAICS 541990—All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services—encompassing technical assistance, monitoring and evaluation, policy analysis, and capacity-building services. She routinely procures expert consulting, training programs, and data-driven research services that directly inform USAID’s interventions in education, governance, and gender equity, demonstrating deep domain expertise in development sector technical services.