Public tenders for e-government are a crucial growth driver for domestic software market development as well as local innovation. Accordingly, Governments in developing and transition economies should seek to use public IT projects as a way to foster active participation and development of local software companies. The relevance of public procurement was confirmed in the UNCTAD-WITSA Survey of IT/Software Associations, where the lack of such procurement of software and IT services was mentioned as a barrier by more than half of all responding associations based in developing and transition economies, and especially in Africa and the Middle East (table V.1).