Foundation
- Cement
- Gravel and sand
- Steel bars
- Wire mesh
- Masonry stone
- Formwork
Pilot · quoting nowRequest a quote
Addis Ababa at dusk · photo credits in the footer
For contractors and developers
Send your list once. Verified suppliers quote in writing.
Cement, steel, blocks, aggregates, finishing and equipment. Compare Offer A, B and C by brand and delivered price, then accept line by line.
For suppliers
Requests for your materials, near your stores. Pay only when a deal completes.
Keep your price list current from your phone. Quotes are pre-filled, so replying takes seconds.
Construction materials procurement · for businesses
Send your BOQ. Get real supplier quotes. Choose line by line.
Send your list once. Verified suppliers send written quotes. You compare them side by side and choose per item. We issue the PO.
Current supplier quotes with price, delivery cost and validity. Not live market prices.
Get a quick quoteA short list, up to ten items. Suppliers reply within your deadline.
→
Send a project BOQUpload your Excel or build it line by line. Multiple sites, multiple deliveries.
→
No account needed to build your list. You enter your mobile number when you send it. Fees apply only on a completed deal, as a small percentage of the order. Rate to be announced.
Prefer Telegram?Send your BOQ as a message or photo to the Build Smartly bot. Coming with the launch. →0Verified suppliers
0Materials in the catalogue
0Sub-cities of Addis Ababa covered
0Offers quoted on the platform
Partners and promotions
Advertise your brand →Brands, suppliers and builders on Build Smartly
Materials
Top categories
From the ground to the keys. Tap a circle to request a quote.
What each category covers · tap to open
Each request is split by material and sent only to verified suppliers of that material.
Structure
- Steel columns
- Cement blocks
- Bricks
- Ready-mix concrete
- Roofing sheets
- Scaffolding
Pilot · quoting nowRequest a quote
Electrical and plumbing
- Cables and conduits
- Distribution boards
- Switches and lighting
- PPR and HDPE pipes
- Drainage pipes
- Water tanks
Next phaseRegister interest
Finishing
- Tiles and flooring
- Paint and plaster
- Gypsum
- Doors and windows
- Sanitary ware
- Glass and ironmongery
Next phaseRegister interest
Equipment rental
- Sino trucks
- Forklifts
- Trailer beds
- Excavators
- Concrete mixers
- Water bowsers
Pilot · quoting nowRequest a quote
How it works
Four steps. You stay in control at every one.
Tell us what you need
Type the items or upload your BOQ. Set a deadline.
Suppliers quote
Only suppliers of that material see your lines. Your name stays hidden.
Compare and choose
Offers A, B, C with delivered price. Accept per item.
PO and delivery
Supplier confirms. PO issued. Pay on the agreed terms.
For suppliers
Keep your price list current in one tap. Win orders near you.
Update prices from your phone, confirm unchanged prices in one action, or upload your whole list from Excel. You only receive requests for materials you sell, and you pay nothing until a deal completes.
- Your dispatch points and prices are never shown to competitors
- Quotes pre-filled from your price list, so replying takes seconds
- Purchase orders and contracts generated for you, with a record of every deal
Your work queue · Derba branch
Prices due for confirmation12
Expired prices3
New quote requests5 · earliest deadline in 31 h
Orders needing action2
Example screen. Figures are placeholders for the mockup.
Why it is safe
Built for how business is done in Ethiopia.
Verified members
Licence and TIN checked before a supplier can quote. Clear status on every account.
Anonymous until the PO
Suppliers see a district, not your address. You see offers, not names. Identities appear only in the contract.
Current prices only
Every price carries a confirmation time and expiry. Stale prices are never shown as current.
Your data stays in Ethiopia
Hosted in Ethiopia under the Personal Data Protection Proclamation. Amharic, Afaan Oromoo and English.
Members
Suppliers and builders who work through Build Smartly.
About us
A share company built by people who build.
Build Smartly S.C. is an Ethiopian share company. Its shareholders are contractors, engineers, suppliers and investors who have all bought materials the hard way: many phone calls, prices that change by the day, and no record of what was agreed.
We are building one place where a contractor sends a list once, verified suppliers quote in writing, and the purchase order and contract are issued with a full record. Addis Ababa first, then the regional cities.
In numbers (targets for the pilot)
Pilot cityAddis Ababa
Launch categories5
Verified suppliers at launch50 target
Quote deadline2 to 30 days
Languages3
Ready to send your first request?
Build your list, enter your mobile number, done. Company details and TIN are asked for only when you accept an offer.
Accounts on this phone
Test-site shortcut: tap one to switch without a code. On the real site each number signs in with its own SMS code.
Sign in
Your mobile number and an SMS code. New number? The account is created for you.
Please enter your name.
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Enter your mobile number, for example 0912345678.Test site: no SMS is sent. The code is 123456.
Are you a supplier?
Suppliers sign in to the supplier portal with their mobile number and password.Supplier sign-in
Suppliers sign in to the supplier portal with their mobile number and password.Supplier sign-in
New to Build Smartly?
Buyers need only a name and a mobile number. Company details and TIN come later, before your first purchase order. Suppliers register their company, TIN and a password.
Test accounts
Buyer: 0911 000 201 (code 123456). Suppliers: 0911 000 301 and 0911 000 302, password smartly, through Supplier sign-in. Any other Ethiopian number also works as a new buyer. Full list on Start here.
Register as a supplier
Step 1 of 4. We send a 6-digit code by SMS. Ethio Telecom or Safaricom.
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Enter your mobile number, for example 0912345678.Test site: no SMS is sent. The code is 123456.
Your company
Step 2 of 4. Company, TIN, what you supply and a password. Documents come in the next step. The same account can also send requests to buy.
As on the business licence.
A TIN has exactly 10 digits.
That email address does not look right.
Choose at least one category.
Used to work out transport to each site. Never shown to buyers.
At least 8 characters. You sign in to the supplier portal with your mobile number and this password.Use at least 8 characters.
Please accept the terms to continue.
Your documents
Step 3 of 4. Business licence and TIN certificate as PDF or photo. Staff check them before your first quote. You can also do this later in the portal.
Fill in the template and upload it here, or later under Price list in the portal. Requests in your categories are pre-filled from it.
Enter the licence number and attach the licence copy, or choose "Later".
Contact verified
Welcome to Build Smartly
Step 4 of 4. Your account is open. Here is what we recorded and what happens next.
Before you can quote
1 · What do you need?
0 itemsTick the items you need. Each one goes only to verified suppliers of that material.
Download the Excel template
Send the template to your site engineer, get it back filled in, and upload it here. Excel (.xlsx) or CSV.
Your list
Type the quantity for each item and when you need it. Earliest date: (example rule, the owner sets the real minimum).
2 · Where and how
Suppliers see only the sub-city. Your exact address is shared with the chosen supplier in the purchase order.
Not pinned · the sub-city centre is used
Transit insurance is offered once, when you complete the order.
Where your lines will go
No account yet? You enter your name and mobile number in the next step.
3 · Your name and mobile number
We send a 6-digit code by SMS, and we text you when offers are ready. That is your whole account. Suppliers never see your name, only a customer number.
Please enter your name.
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Enter your mobile number, for example 0912345678.Test site: no SMS is sent. The code is 123456.
Pin your delivery site
Tap the map where the goods should go. Suppliers see only the sub-city; the exact pin goes to the chosen supplier with the purchase order.
Loading the map…
Yagout Pay · secure payment
Pay for
Telebirr, CBE Birr, bank card or bank transfer. The supplier is paid when the gateway confirms. On the test site no money moves.
Supplier
Goods, delivered
Build Smartly delivery
Transit insurance (0.4 %)
Total to pay
Build Smartly feeCharged on completion · example 1.5 %
Your supplier account
The mobile number and password you registered with. Test logins are listed on the Start here page.
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Wrong password. On the test site it is "smartly".
No supplier account with that number
Before you can quote
Location incomplete
Adding your dispatch points helps you receive requests near you, lets you offer free or lower delivery, and helps you win orders. This information is never shown to buyers or the public. Our team will call you within 7 days to help.
Orders
Offers you sent
Statements
Every purchase order, contract and receipt, by year. View, print or save as PDF.
Newsletter
Support
Write to Build Smartly support about a request, an order or your documents. Staff answer here and by SMS.
1 · Tick the items you sell
From the shared catalogue, in your categories. Each ticked item gets a row below where you type the price.
Update many at once
Download the Excel template, fill in your prices, and upload it. Or paste the cells from your own sheet below: item name, unit price, and optionally validity in days. Names that match the catalogue are updated; others are listed for staff to map.
Notifications
1 · Documents
Private. Seen only by verification staff. Required before your first quote.
Ethiopian calendar dates are converted.
A TIN has exactly 10 digits.
2 · What you supply
Choose a main category (first tap) and up to five more. Requests are sent to you only for these.
3 · Dispatch points and coverage
Optional, but suppliers with dispatch points receive more requests. Never shown to anyone. Reconfirmed every 3 months.
4 · Supplier agreement
Required before you receive requests.
5 · Public profile (optional)
Published in the Members directory after a staff check. No addresses, phone numbers or prices in the text.
No phone numbers, addresses, price tags or QR codes in pictures. A moderator checks before publishing.
6 · Promote your brand
A monthly newsletter goes to every registered buyer. Announce a new brand, a new supply or an offer; or sponsor a tile on the home page. Always marked, never changes the order of offers.
7 · Your numbers
Your own figures only, from the same records the platform uses.
Won orders by material
Member
Your company
Connecting…
Complete your company details
Who is buying, legal name and TIN. Needed once, before your first purchase order. You can also do it later, at your first Accept.
Tracking
Where each request or order stands. Restricted between you and the platform.
Statements
Every purchase order, contract and receipt, by year. View, print or save as PDF for your records.
Support
Write to Build Smartly support about a request, an offer or a delivery. Amharic, Afaan Oromoo or English. Staff answer here and by SMS; the thread is kept with your account.
Newsletter
The latest Build Smartly newsletter: new brands, new supplies and offers from verified suppliers. Sponsored items are marked.
Settings
Notifications
My locations
Optional. Head office, stores or usual sites, so staff can suggest the delivery site next time. Private, never shown to anyone.
Public profile (optional, companies only)
Company history, brands you work with or projects completed. Published in the Members directory after a staff check. No addresses, phone numbers or prices.
No phone numbers, addresses or prices in the introduction. Moderators check this.
Language is switched from the top of the page. Company users, approval limits and bank details are added here in the real app, each with its own approval step.
Partners and promotions for platform members
Brand kit · draft for the shareholders
Logo, banner and category pictures
Everything here was drawn for the prototype and can be changed. Tap any picture to open it full size.
Mark: three stepped blocks rising, the top one in ochre with an upward arrow. Wordmark in Sora.
Sunrise over a site in Addis Ababa: tower crane, building under construction, materials in the foreground. Amharic and Oromo taglines are drafts.
Green 1E6B4E
Deep green 12402F
Ochre E3A63A
Ink 14241E
Off-white F6F7F4
Headings: Sora. Text: Manrope. Ethiopic script: Noto Sans Ethiopic.
Contact
Talk to a person
Amharic, Afaan Oromoo or English. Monday to Saturday, 8:00 to 18:00.
Thank you. We reply within one working day.
Build Smartly S.C.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (office address to be announced)
Phone: +251 11 000 0000 (placeholder)
Email: hello@buildsmartly.et (placeholder)
Telegram: @BuildSmartly (to be registered)
For verification questions, write "Documents" in the subject. For an offer or order, give the request number.
Questions and answers
What people ask us
Does it cost anything to register?
No. Registration is free for customers and suppliers. A fee applies only when a deal is completed, as a small percentage of the order. The rate will be published before launch.
Who sees my request?
Only verified suppliers of the materials on your list. They see a customer number and the sub-city of delivery, never your name or exact address. Your identity appears only in the purchase order.
Are the prices on the home page live?
No. They are indicative prices confirmed by suppliers that morning. A binding price comes only as a written offer on your request, with a validity date.
Can I accept only part of my list?
Yes. You accept, reject or renegotiate each line separately, and you can split a line between two suppliers if both allow partial supply.
How do I pay?
The payment term is agreed per order: advance, on shipping, on delivery, or credit with a date. Payment goes through the platform's payment provider so that both sides have proof.
Do I need an account to send a request?
Only your mobile number. Build your list, press Send, type the SMS code. That is the account. Your list is saved on your phone while you do it, so you can leave and come back.
Which documents do I need?
Buyers: your name or company name and TIN, asked once when you accept your first offer, so the purchase order can be issued. A person without a TIN shows a Fayda ID to staff instead. A government office gives an official authorisation letter. Suppliers: business licence and TIN certificate before the first quote. Nothing is needed to open the account or to send a request.
Can I use Telegram instead of the website?
Yes, this is planned for launch. The Build Smartly bot will let you send your list as a message, a photo or an Excel file, and will send you notifications when offers arrive. The website and the bot share the same account and the same records.
Where is my data kept?
On servers in Ethiopia, as required by the Personal Data Protection Proclamation. Your location and documents are private and are never shown on a public profile.
Draft for legal review
Terms of use
Plain-language summary of what the final terms will cover. Ethiopian counsel writes the binding text.
1. The service
Build Smartly is a platform that connects verified buyers and suppliers of construction materials and equipment. The sale contract is between the buyer and the supplier. Build Smartly issues the purchase order and contract documents and records the deal.
2. Accounts and verification
One account per person or organisation. Suppliers must hold a valid business licence. Documents are checked by staff before trading. Accounts with expired documents are restricted.
3. Requests and offers
An offer is binding for its validity period. A buyer who accepts an offer and a supplier who reconfirms it are bound by the purchase order and contract.
4. Fees
A percentage of each completed sale, published on the website. No fee for registration or for sending requests.
5. Hidden information
Locations, contact details and identities are hidden until the purchase order. Members may not use information from the platform to deal outside it during the protection period.
6. Disputes
Delivery shortages, damage and payment issues are reported in the app and handled by Build Smartly support before any other step.
Draft for legal review
Privacy notice
Written under the Personal Data Protection Proclamation No. 1321/2024.
What we collect
Name, mobile number, email, company details, licence and tax documents, locations you add, and the records of your requests, offers and orders.
Why
To verify members, match requests with suppliers, issue documents, deliver goods and keep the legal records of each deal.
Who sees it
Only the staff whose job needs it, and only with a log entry. Other members see your identity only in a purchase order. Nothing is sold or shared with advertisers.
Where
On servers in Ethiopia. Cross-border transfers only as the law allows.
Your rights
You can see, correct and ask for deletion of your data, subject to legal record-keeping. Write to the contact on the Contact page.
Members
Verified suppliers and builders
Companies that chose to publish a profile. Contact happens only through Build Smartly: send a request and the right suppliers quote. No addresses, phone numbers or prices are shown here.
A profile is published only after Build Smartly staff have reviewed it. Sponsored cards are marked. Newsletter and promotions.
Newsletter and promotions
News, offers and new supplies from verified members
Build Smartly sends a newsletter to all registered members: a link by SMS, Telegram and e-mail. Brands, suppliers and contractors can all advertise: a banner with your picture in the slideshow on the home page and in every member's workspace, and an item in the newsletter. A verified profile in the Members directory is free. Sponsored places are always marked and never change the order of offers a buyer sees. Prices are examples; the owner sets the final rates.
Latest issue
What buyers received this month. Also in every member's Mailbox under Newsletter.
For brands, suppliers and contractorsInterested in advertising?
A newsletter item, a banner in the slideshow, a featured-supplier card or a price-pulse tile. Press the button to see the placements, the example prices and the form.
Sponsored
Newsletter item and banner
Your headline, text and picture in the monthly issue, and your banner in the slideshow on the home page and in every member's workspace.
Example: ETB 5,000 per issue
Sponsored
Featured supplier
Top of the newsletter, top of the members directory and a card on the home page for a month.
Example: ETB 15,000 per month
Sponsored
Price pulse tile and member banner
A tile in the moving price strip on the home page, or a slide in the banner inside every member's workspace.
Example: ETB 4,000 to 5,000 per month
Free
Verified profile
Every verified company can publish a profile in the Members directory at no cost, after review.
ETB 0
Staff
Build Smartly staff sign-in
Categorisation, supplier verification, support, newsletter, finance, tariffs and brands. Staff only.
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First time
Set up the owner login
This is done once. The owner can then add a login for each staff member and choose who sees finance.
Test site
Start here
Build Smartly is the working name. Everything works, but no SMS is sent and no money moves. One buyer, two suppliers and two staff logins.
Watch how it works
A 4-minute walkthrough: a buyer sends a request, offers arrive, the order goes through contract, delivery and payment, then the supplier portal and the staff page.
Your logins
SMS code for every number: 123456. Supplier portal password: smartly.
As the buyer
- Send a request: tick the materials, type quantities, choose who delivers, Send. Sign in with 0911 000 201 and code 123456.
- Both test suppliers receive it, and a few background suppliers quote by themselves within minutes, so each line gets several offers. The bell at the top right lights up.
- Open My requests. Each line has its own box, cheapest first. Choose one offer per line, reject, or propose your own price.
- Press Complete the order: delivery, insurance and your company details, once. One order per supplier.
- Follow each order on its page: agree to the contract, confirm delivery with the handover code, pay. Documents are under Statements.
As a supplier
- Open the Supplier portal with 0911 000 301 or 0911 000 302 and the password smartly.
- Price list: tick what you sell, type prices, Save. Quotes are pre-filled from it.
- Requests: send your offer per line. The buyer sees your brand, not your name.
- Offers and orders: Waiting for your action lists counter-offers to answer and orders to reconfirm, prepare and dispatch.
Tip: use two browser windows, one as the buyer and one as a supplier.
Switching login
Tap your name at the top right, then Switch account. Any other Ethiopian number also works as a new buyer.
For the shareholders
Review and feedback
Go through each part of the prototype, mark it Approve or Change, and write what you want adjusted. Save at the end. The same checklist is also available as a Word document if you prefer to write your comments there.
- Tap Send a request, press "Try with an example list", then "Send request to suppliers". Enter your name, your buyer number and the code 123456.
- Offers arrive by themselves within a few minutes. Or open the Supplier portal with your supplier number and password smartly, and send an offer yourself.
- Go back to Send a request, open "My requests", and accept the offer. You are asked once who is buying (name and TIN); then the PO is issued and the supplier's name appears.
- Open My workspace to see Tracking, Notifications, Inbox and Outbox update. In the supplier portal, open Orders and Analytics.
Reviews received
Everything saved on this link, newest first.