France - Agence Française de Développement (AFD)

Submitted by icr on Wed, 11/25/2015 - 12:04

Donor:

Bilateral

Geographical focus:

Africa

South Asia

Intro text:

Agence Française de Développement (AFD) is a financial institution and the main implementing agency for France’s official development assistance to developing countries and overseas territories. AFD is the operator for France’s bilateral development finance mechanism. It is a public industrial and commercial institution with the status of specialized financial institution. Its action is in line with the policy set out in France’s Framework Document for Development Cooperation. AFD has been entrusted with a mandate by the French national authorities to contribute to economic and social development in its geographical areas of operation. It achieves this by financing and supporting development projects and programs, participating in the debate, research and dialogue with the relevant stakeholders. Total ODA in 2014 was USD 10.4 billion, which represents 0,36% of GNI.

Official website	http://www.afd.fr/lang/en/home
Who can apply?	- Governments; - Regional and local authorities or Federated States; - Public and private enterprises; - Banks and microfinance institutions; - Investment funds; - International funds; - International and regional organizations; - Universities; - NGOs; and - Associations and foundations. These entities are the contracting authorities and lead the project, from its identification to the feasibility study, including the management of the enterprises tasked with designing and subsequently conducting the works.
Objectives and activities	The aim is to contribute to more sustainable and shared economic growth, improve living conditions in the poorest regions and countries, contribute to preserving the planet and help stabilize fragile or post-conflict countries. Projects are divided into the following categories: - Capacity Building; - Climate; - Crisis and conflicts; - Water and Sanitation; - Gender; - Agriculture; - Biodiversity; - Business and Finance; - Education; - Infrastructure and Energy; - Health; and - Urban Development. Current and past projects with tourism involvement include: - Rural infrastructure development and ecotourism in the province of Lao Cai, (Viet Nam); - Innovative and Sustainable Tourism (Morocco); and - Professional education in the tourist sector (Dominican Republic).
Type and level of funding	Grants (LDCs), soft loans and technical assistance (middle income countries), market-rate loans (emerging countries for climate change projects), subsidies, debt reduction, guarantees to banks, private equity.