Selling to Qatar's Energy Sector: How Tawteen and ICV Scores Work for SMEs

For a local SME, winning work in Qatar's energy sector is no longer only about price and technical merit. Since July 2020, QatarEnergy has weighed each supplier's contribution to the local economy when it evaluates tenders. Since July 2023, a local company bidding without a valid In-Country Value (ICV) score can have its bid rejected. If your business sells maintenance, engineering, inspection, digital or support services and wants energy-sector contracts, ICV decides whether you can bid at all, so it is worth understanding before your first bid. This guide explains how Tawteen and ICV work, what the score measures, and how a small firm can get started.

Tawteen in brief: three pillars

QatarEnergy describes Tawteen as "the supply chain localization program for the energy sector in Qatar." It rests on three pillars:

• New investment opportunities. QatarEnergy's cluster development team creates and awards opportunities to localise products and services that the sector currently imports.
• Supplier development. Through a joint industry initiative, QatarEnergy and other energy companies offer local suppliers business support, capability building, talent development and strategic assistance.
• The ICV policy. This is the scoring system that rewards local spending, local talent and local investment in tenders.

According to Qatar Tribune's 2020 report on the launch of ICV evaluation, the programme was set up to develop the sector's local supply chain and to expand the SME base in Qatar.

What an ICV score measures

QatarEnergy assesses ICV contributions on three things: local purchases, capability development and capital investment. The public ICV Digital Portal has a calculation simulator that breaks the formula into five inputs:

• A – Goods and services bought locally
• B – Workforce training
• C – Supplier development
• D – Investments in fixed assets in Qatar
• R – Revenue, which the other inputs are measured against

The simulator lets you choose your industry and compare an estimated score with the industry average. That makes it a useful planning tool before you approach a certifier. The detailed methodology and weightings are set by Tawteen and applied by certifiers. Treat any score you calculate yourself as an estimate until it has been certified.

QatarEnergy introduced an enhanced ICV programme in October 2024, developed with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It refined the formula to count a wider range of local contributions and added a bonus scheme for positive contributions in selected fields. It also added an ICV+ policy for local manufacturers and a Blanket Score policy that gives micro and small enterprises a standardised score, so they can compete without a full certification exercise. The same announcement said the programme had raised the energy sector's local contribution from 14% to 28.5% and created about 7,000 jobs.

The tender rules that matter for SMEs

QatarEnergy's tender page sets out the rules that apply to bidders:

• Local bidders need a score. From 1 July 2023, bids from local suppliers and contractors that do not have an ICV score on the ICV portal by the tender closing date will not be accepted.
• Young companies are exempt. Local companies established for less than two years are exempt from this requirement.
• International bidders start at zero. International suppliers do not need ICV certification to bid, but their ICV score "is always set to zero". A certified local firm therefore starts with an advantage.

Certifier Forvis Mazars says that tender evaluations "consider technical, business, and ICV criteria" and that ICV compliance is checked again mid-contract, at the end of the contract and at final assessment. ICV is therefore a commitment that continues for the life of a contract.

How to get certified: a step-by-step route

An ICV score is not self-declared. Independent audit firms approved by Tawteen verify it. Twelve firms were appointed when the policy started, according to Qatar Tribune. Combining QatarEnergy's requirements with the process set out by Forvis Mazars, the route for a typical SME looks like this:

• 1. Register as a vendor. Register on QatarEnergy's Mushtaryat portal and complete the Know Your Supplier (KYS) questionnaire. Once you are approved, you receive an SAP Vendor Code, which is "a mandatory requirement" before QatarEnergy will issue RFQs or tender documents to you. Registration is not pre-qualification, and QatarEnergy advises registering well before any closing date.
• 2. Register on the ICV Digital Portal. This is where your scorecard is held and where buyers check it.
• 3. Engage a pre-approved certifier and complete the ICV scorecard with your financial and workforce data.
• 4. Document review. The certifier verifies the data against Tawteen's approved methodology.
• 5. Certificate issued. You receive an ICV certificate and a Factual Finding Report, signed jointly by your company and the certifier.

The portal also supports ICV Plan certification and lets suppliers track their performance against the industry average. When it launched in 2022, more than 1,000 scorecards had been issued and more than 950 suppliers were registered. Fees, timelines and the current certifier list change over time, so confirm them on the portal and with Tawteen before you start.

Where small firms fit: sub-supply and localisation clusters

Most SMEs will not start as prime contractors. A more realistic entry point is selling to the contractors who already hold QatarEnergy contracts. Those contractors improve their own ICV by buying from certified local firms. When the portal launched, Tawteen said scores would be refreshed dynamically to include newly certified sub-suppliers. A certified SME therefore helps its customers' scores as well as its own.

QatarEnergy's localisation clusters show where it wants local capacity. The list includes subsurface operations, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), digital technologies, chemicals and metals, engineering services, light equipment and business services. Drilling inspection, recycling and maintenance are named as examples. A US Commercial Service market brief also points to renewable energy and storage, clean and environmental technologies, IoT in smart grids, and R&D pilots on renewables and energy efficiency. Technology-led SMEs and startups can compete in these areas.

Financial readiness matters too. In September 2026, QNB used the second edition of its SME Local Business Boost series, themed "Building a Resilient Energy Ecosystem," to bring energy-sector executives, suppliers and SMEs together. The discussion covered supply-chain efficiency, operational readiness and financial resilience. Mid-contract ICV reviews, like the tender itself, reward suppliers that keep clean records and stable finances.

The Vision 2030 connection

QatarEnergy states that Tawteen supports Qatar National Vision 2030 by developing knowledge- and technology-focused businesses, building competitive in-country supply chains and contributing to economic diversification. The programme also matches the direction of the Third National Development Strategy (NDS3). NDS3 asks the government to "enable the private sector to lead and drive economic growth," and it favours "highly productive, specialised, and competitive economic clusters" over isolated sector policies. ICV puts that into practice in procurement. It moves contract value towards firms that hire, train, buy and invest in Qatar.

What to do next

The steps below are general guidance. Confirm current requirements with Tawteen and QatarEnergy before acting.

• Check your status. If your company is more than two years old and plans to bid locally, treat an ICV score as a requirement, not an option.
• Run the simulator on the ICV portal with last year's figures to see which inputs (local spend, training, supplier development, fixed assets) would lift your score most.
• Register on Mushtaryat now. Getting a vendor code takes review time, and you cannot receive RFQs without one.
• Ask about the Blanket Score and simplified certification if you are a micro or small enterprise. These were designed to lower the cost of taking part.
• Target the prime contractors in your cluster and lead with your certified score, because it improves their ICV as well as yours.
• Plan for ICV over the full contract. Build local hiring, training and procurement into delivery plans so mid-contract and end-of-contract reviews hold up.

Sources

• Social & Economic Development (Tawteen, ICV) – QatarEnergy – qatarenergy.qa
• Buy Tenders Online (ICV requirements for bidders) – QatarEnergy – qatarenergy.qa
• Vendor Registration – QatarEnergy – qatarenergy.qa
• ICV Digital Portal and ICV Calculation Simulator – Tawteen – icv.qa
• QatarEnergy introduces enhanced In-Country Value programme – Qatar Tribune / QNA (Oct 2024) – qatar-tribune.com
• QatarEnergy launches Tawteen In-Country Value digital portal – Qatar Tribune (Mar 2022) – qatar-tribune.com
• ICV evaluation to start in energy sector tenders – Qatar Tribune (Jun 2020) – qatar-tribune.com
• Obtaining ICV certification in Qatar – Forvis Mazars – forvismazars.com
• Purpose of ICV Certification and Role of ICV Certifiers – Forvis Mazars – forvismazars.com
• Qatar Energy In-Country Value Program: TAWTEEN – U.S. International Trade Administration – trade.gov
• QNB brings energy sector together to build resilient SME ecosystem – The Peninsula (16 Sep 2026) – thepeninsulaqatar.com
• Qatar launches Third National Development Strategy 2024-2030 – Gulf Times (Jan 2024) – gulf-times.com

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