Build with our partners

AFD’s relationships with CSOs have strongly developed and diversified since 2009, the year when AFD was given a mandate for developing strategic and financial partnerships with French civil society. These now multiform relationships cover several aspects simultaneously: institutional, strategic, and sectoral dialogue; knowledge production; and the financing of projects and activities.

The European Commission and its 27 Member States provide about 46% of the world's official development assistance, which makes them the world's largest donor with a total of €66.8 billion allocated in 2020. The EU is therefore a key player in the attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To achieve its objectives, the European Commission is mobilizing its European partners. For more than 12 years, AFD Group has been working extensively with the EU.

Between 2014 and 2020, the European Commission allocated €2.8 billion in grants to the Group for more than 220 projects. This co-financing activity places AFD Group at the top of the Commission's list of European partners. AFD Group also works closely with various European partners for greater efficiency.

The United Nations is a key forum in terms of the international discussions on development aid, and AFD participates in these actively. We maintain institutional relations with the UN actors and operational relations with certain UN organizations.

Regardless of whether they are bilateral, multilateral or national, development banks and agencies are natural partners for AFD. Many of our projects are cofinanced by one or more of them. Indeed, synergies among donors are essential for making their actions effective.

National and regional development banks in emerging and developing countries have become crucial actors for financing transitions and reaching the SDGs. The objective of the IDFC is to increase the synergies between all those development banks and the main bilateral banks.

AFD is devoting an increasing share of its activity to direct financing of local authorities in the countries where it works. To do so, it relies on the expertise of French local and regional authorities in particular, many of which are significant actors in development aid.

AFD maintains relationships of work, research, and reflection with numerous think tanks, centers of study and research, universities and institutes of higher learning, and innovation centers—both in France and abroad. These partnerships may involve intellectual production, project assistance, or consulting.

Foundations are legal entities working in the public interest. They play an increasingly significant role financially and in terms of influence, innovation, and strong local presence for development projects. For AFD, creating partnerships with these fast-growing actors represents a real opportunity for increasing aid effectiveness.

The alliance with Caisse des Dépôts marked a new phase in the life of AFD. The driving force of this partnership is the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which have become the common guide for public action in France and abroad.