French Overseas Territories: 5 key points on AFD Group's operations

1. AFD GROUP SUPPORTS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN FRENCH OVERSEAS TERRITORIES…

The Group has remained true to its goal of supporting the economic and social development of France's Overseas Territories in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and continues to provide assistance amid the global economy's general downturn. In 2024, AFD Group granted the private sector €138 million in loans (€75 million to the banking industry and €63 million to companies) and €86 million in guarantees.

In New Caledonia, AFD has mobilized all the tools at its disposal to help the territory recover from the recent crisis. In 2025, it will serve as the government’s key partner in deploying a State-Guaranteed Loan (SGL) that will support the structural reforms required to stimulate the economy and restore social cohesion. The Group will also provide technical assistance to help drive these reforms.

In French Polynesia, AFD has granted €26.5 million in financing for an ongoing project to modernize the autonomous Port of Papeete. The aim is to upgrade the port’s infrastructure and modernize its procedures to make them more environmentally friendly. The project is expected to create at least 180 local jobs.

In the Caribbean, the Group has provided a grant of €8 million to finance a project for the regional coordination and integrated management of the invasive algae sargassum. Implemented by Expertise France, the goal is to limit the negative impact of sargassum strandings on local economies, communities, and coastal ecosystems through better management and recovery of the algae.

2. … AND BOOSTS LOCAL PUBLIC INVESTMENT

In 2024, AFD Group committed €762 million in financing volume to public sector stakeholders in France’s Overseas Territories: €738 million in loans, including €550 million at a subsidized, lower than market rate, €20 million in project management assistance grants, and €4 million of credit delegated to other donors.

In Mayotte, in the wake of Cyclone Chido, AFD helped finance the work led by the Architectes de l’Urgence foundation to estimate the damage. It then authorized staggered repayments for certain loans granted to local authorities to help them manage cash flow shortages due to unforeseen expenses resulting from the cyclone. It also provided support with calls for tender for public procurement contracts to reconstruct damaged buildings.

The territorial collectivity of Martinique was awarded €150 million in financing, with an initial tranche of €50 million allocated in late 2024, to cover investments in transport infrastructure, the renovation and upgrading of schools to meet earthquake-resistance standards, and the development of digital infrastructure. This financial instrument has also been used to support the territorial collectivity of French Guiana, and the department and region of Réunion.

Project engineering support mechanisms for overseas public stakeholders are also on the rise: the Overseas Fund (FOM), delegated by the French government to AFD, facilitates the seed funding process for their investment projects and was allocated an additional €17 million in 2024. Expertise France has also been working more closely with local authorities. Last year, it supported 43 projects and deployed around twenty technical assistants to support local authorities in Overseas France through the FOM.

3. AFD PROVIDES ESSENTIAL SUPPORT TO THE HEALTHCARE SECTOR…

AFD Group is one of the leading financiers of the healthcare sector in the French Overseas Territories. In Réunion, it recently provided support to construct an 18-bed medical center that can accommodate and house homeless people with serious medical conditions, managed by the La Halte Père Étienne Grienenberger association.

In Martinique, the Martinique Autisme association was awarded an €11.6 million loan to build a medical center to provide better care for people with autism spectrum disorders. All of its services will be delivered under one roof: day care for children and teenagers, daily care and accommodation for adults, socio-educational support services, temporary housing to prepare patients for independent living and provide emergency accommodation for families, a meeting place for caregivers, and so on.

AFD was also delegated a grant by the European Union to support the Martinique University Hospital (CHUM) in developing its “Sector of Excellence” project. The aim is to create a top-class hematology and oncology department, improve radiation therapy in Martinique, and provide regional care for patients with locomotor disabilities in expert centers. The project also involves plans to upgrade the University Hospital’s IT system.

4. … AND INCREASES THE CLIMATE-DISASTER RESILIENCE OF FRANCE’S OVERSEAS TERRITORIES…

Climate change and loss of biodiversity are among the biggest common challenges in French Overseas Territories and their surrounding regions. In view of this situation, AFD Group has adopted a specific approach to promote sustainable development and accelerate adaptation measures to mitigate the impact of these ecological crises.

In 2024, 40% of projects financed in French Overseas Territories provided co-benefits for the climate and adaptation to climate change. The Kiwa Initiative is one of its flagship programs: launched in 2020 by France and the European Union, together with Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, it has been awarded €77 million in grants – including €44 million from AFD – to increase the resilience of Pacific islands’ ecosystems, communities, and economies against climate change. In French Polynesia, the Kiwa program has funded several projects focusing on the preservation of freshwater resources and the management of invasive species. In New Caledonia, the Dayu Biik association led a project which implemented proposals from local communities to protect against forest fires, manage natural areas, and raise public awareness.

In Guadeloupe, the “Revisited Planet of the Islands of Guadeloupe” project, led by the Regional Biodiversity Agency of the Islands of Guadeloupe and the National Museum of Natural History collected data on the biodiversity of the region’s southern islands – La Désirade, Marie-Galante and Les Saintes – during a six-week scientific expedition involving around a hundred researchers in 2024.

5. … ALL WHILE PROMOTING REGIONAL COOPERATION

France aims to fully integrate its Overseas Territories into their respective ocean basins. To achieve this goal, AFD supports regional projects that not only benefit French territories but also other island states, while addressing common issues, including health, climate, biodiversity, fisheries and energy, as with the sargassum management project and the Kiwa Initiative. In 2024, the Group financed 15 projects of this kind.

The Three Oceans project (awarded €22 million in grants since 2019), led together with the French Red Cross, is an exemplary example of regional cooperation. It aims to reduce the impact of health crises and climate and environmental disasters on people in the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean regions by strengthening national and regional coordination mechanisms and building the capacities of institutional partners, as well as those of the communities most at risk.  The Three Oceans project has already proven effective in its response to Cyclone Chido in Mayotte and Cyclone Garance in Réunion.