Agence française de développement (AFD) is the public agency that implements france's international development and solidarity policy. Development is one of the three pillars of the country's overseas action, alongside diplomacy and defence. Our mission is to contribute to the economic, social and environmental progress of low and middle-income countries.
In concrete terms, this mission takes the form of providing loans, donations, expertise and in some cases technical assistance. These concern projects with social and environmental impacts in many different areas: climate, biodiversity, peace, education, urban planning, healthcare, digital technology, and more. The final objective is always to improve the day-to-day living conditions of the population and prepare more effectively for the future. AFD's funding projects are therefore solidarity development investments.
More about Development Aid
Climate change, conflict, pollution and epidemics not stop at borders. In a world where everything that happens at the other end of the world impacts our lives, it is in all our interests that the world be a more stable place, that inequality be reduced and nature preserved.
One example among others: the extreme poverty that is still endemic in the sahel has enabled terrorist groups to prosper, which directly threaten france and its inhabitants. AFD provides a powerful response to this problem through ambitious development programmes in the education and healthcare fields in particular. These are both short and long-term actions that are indispensable to stem the poverty that provides fertile ground for all kinds of instability.
We also believe that certain resources (water, forests, biodiversity, etc.) must be managed at a global level, on the global commons model. These resources are shared, managed and maintained collectively by a community that considers ownership as usage, not appropriation.
Participating in the development of emerging countries means participating in the growth of an economy that benefits first and foremost the inhabitants of the countries concerned, but also indirectly employment in france with new openings for our companies, in strict compliance with local regulations and standards. More generally, france's development policy contributes to france's global reach and influence.
We believe it is essential to support the populations that face the greatest poverty, difficulties in accessing healthcare or the consequences of climate change, wherever they are in the world and whatever the political regime in place.
Where possible, we work with the existing authorities to encourage and support governance-related reforms and precisely to foster the extension of human and social rights.
Finally, AFD does not only work with states. Over half our funding is granted to non-state actors such as companies (see the website of proparco, our subsidiary dedicated to the private sector), ngos or local authorities (regions, cities, etc.) Which work in the interests of the population, especially where the state is weak or failing.