Nelly Emele

Nelly Emele serves as a Procurement Assistant at USAID/Nigeria, supporting the agency’s mission to strengthen governance, public health systems, and sustainable development outcomes across Nigeria. In this role, she provides critical procurement support for technical assistance contracts, ensuring compliance with federal acquisition regulations and USAID’s performance monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) frameworks. She facilitates the end-to-end acquisition process for professional, scientific, and technical services, working closely with program officers to translate strategic objectives into solicitations, evaluate proposals, and manage contract modifications. Her work directly enables the agency’s emphasis on local capacity building and data-driven program design. While specific contractor names are not publicly disclosed, Emele maintains collaborative relationships with a diverse pool of vendors, including domestic and international professional services firms, local Nigerian consulting entities, and small businesses certified under socioeconomic programs. She consistently engages with vendors capable of delivering high-quality technical expertise in health systems strengthening, data science, and subnational governance, fostering transparent and competitive procurement practices that align with U.S. foreign assistance priorities. Emele demonstrates a strong commitment to socioeconomic contracting, with approximately half of her supported acquisitions set aside for 8(a) certified small businesses, reflecting USAID/Nigeria’s emphasis on inclusive economic development. The remaining awards are competed without set-asides, ensuring broad market participation while maintaining competitive integrity. Her procurement patterns reflect a deliberate balance between fostering small business growth and securing specialized technical capacity. Her primary procurement focus is on NAICS 541990—All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services—encompassing technical advisory services, data analysis, monitoring and evaluation support, capacity-building training, and institutional strengthening initiatives. She routinely procures services that enhance local institutional resilience and advance evidence-based decision-making in public health and governance sectors.