AFD Group’s 2025 results: targets met despite a challenging context

The three entities of AFD Group held their final board meetings of 2025 on 10 December (Expertise France), 11 December (AFD), and 12 December (Proparco). While final audited accounts will be released in the first half of 2026 (1), preliminary insights based on unaudited quarterly figures as of 30 September 2025 already allow for a number of key takeaways. These findings come at a time when public debate is gaining momentum around France's international action and the role of its development agency.

Strong performance aligned with France's strategic international commitments

AFD Group's 2025 activity reflects the combined efforts of AFD (supporting public-sector and civil society partners), Proparco (its private-sector financing arm), and Expertise France (France’s technical cooperation agency). The Group’s total estimated activity for the year stands at €13.7 billion, consistent with 2024 levels. This includes €10 billion by AFD, €3.2 billion by Proparco, and €565 million by Expertise France. Disbursements are expected to reach a record €9.5 billion, including €2 billion from Proparco. Overall, AFD is managing more than 4,300 active projects. Africa accounts for nearly €38 billion, or around 50% of the Group’s total project portfolio.

In 2025, AFD Group once again advanced the core priorities of France’s international action as defined by the President and Government: 

• On climate: around €7.4 billion in financing supported projects with a positive impact on climate change mitigation and adaptation, representing nearly 60% of total activity. AFD Group has met France’s international climate commitments every year in line with the Paris Agreement, whose tenth anniversary is being marked this year.
• On gender equality: 61% of projects contributed to France’s feminist diplomacy, exceeding the 55% target.
• On governance and democracy: 68% of projects supported public service delivery and state-building efforts, surpassing the target of 55%.

Throughout 2025, AFD Group was active on all major geopolitical and thematic fronts supporting France’s international agenda. This included action in crisis-affected areas such as: 

• In crisis areas: in Lebanon (supporting the ICRC to improve access to water and healthcare for vulnerable populations in 34 villages in southern Lebanon) and Ukraine (in Odesa, supporting the production of medical prosthetics; in Lviv, providing a first municipal loan; and through Proparco, supporting Ukrainian start-ups).
• On global public goods: in South Africa, which held the G20 presidency in 2025 (delivering, one year ahead of schedule and through the Transnet project, France’s €1 billion pledge to support a just transition away from coal); in Morocco (first operations in ports and with local authorities in the southern provinces); and in the Amazon (expanding the undersea cable linking the EU, Brazil, and French Guiana with Alcatel Submarine Network; an Expertise France bioeconomy program in Belém in the run-up to COP30; and an agreement between AXA IM Alts and Proparco to invest in natural capital).
• In strategic sectors for France and Europe: critical minerals (12 projects under way in around 15 countries); geospatial technology (support to the Rwanda Space Agency and a partnership with CNES); carbon markets (25 projects in about 20 countries); and counter-narcotics efforts (led by Expertise France to secure the port of Guayaquil in Ecuador and under the EU’s EL PAcCTO program).

Strong capacity to certify impacts and engage French and international partners

All AFD-financed projects are subject to internal evaluation, and half undergo external evaluations, which are available online. AFD can now precisely certify the sustainable development impacts achieved across all the projects it supports. Nearly 60% of the €8.2 billion in bonds issued by the Group on financial markets in 2025 are based on this rigorous methodology and high-quality data.

AFD Group’s operations generate concrete benefits for populations. In 2025, nearly 3.5 million people will benefit from improved access to healthcare, and 1.5 million will gain improved access to urban transport. Over a ten-year period (2015–2025), more than 75 million people will have gained access to safe drinking water, and more than 70 million hectares will have been protected-an area equivalent to the size of Türkiye.

This work serves France’s interests directly: 86% of projects financed by AFD involve a French stakeholder, generating an estimated €2.5 billion in economic returns in 2025, compared to €1.5 billion ten years ago. Strategic partnerships were signed in 2025 with the ORANGE and VEOLIA groups, and others are in preparation. AFD also supports the international action of local authorities through a dedicated mechanism that marked its 10th anniversary in the French Senate this year and has financed over 110 projects.

AFD actively supports civil society organizations (CSOs) and their ecosystem (Coordination Sud, the RRMA network, FORIM, etc.)-a sector estimated to represent 50,000 jobs-with a dedicated mechanism maintained at €112 million in 2025.

France’s broader partnership and mobilization agenda saw clear progress in 2025. On private finance, Proparco is expected to achieve, for the first time, a 1-to-1 ratio between private capital mobilized and its own investments, by scaling up financial innovation. On public finance, the Group remains the most successful institution in securing European Commission funding, with nearly €1.4 billion mobilized this year. In total, AFD Group mobilized about €1.6 billion in 2025, up from €1 billion in 2024-a 60% increase. 

AFD Group also works closely with many other public development banks, as part of the Finance in Common (FiCS) coalition, which met in Cape Town in February 2025. It is now the World Bank’s leading partner worldwide. Significant progress was also made this year in partnerships with philanthropic organizations, both French (e.g. Fondation de France) and international (e.g. Gates Foundation, Aga Khan Foundation, Sawiris Foundation).

For every euro allocated by the French Parliament, twelve euros are invested through partnerships in projects that create meaningful links between France and its international partners.
 

A model under strain as public funding declines sharply

The sharp reduction in public budget allocations to AFD Group over the past two years (which may continue in 2026 depending on decisions by Parliament and the Government) is driving significant shifts in the Group’s activities.

Geographically, France’s investments through AFD declined in Africa, from 38% of total activity in 2024 to just 30% in 2025, and in the Middle East (down 11%). At the same time, there was strong growth in the French overseas territories (up 17%) and Latin America (up 44%). In the overseas territories, 2025 saw a particularly high volume of commitments at €1.7 billion. These included a state-guaranteed €800 million loan in support of New Caledonia, co-financing for a new geothermal electricity generation unit in Guadeloupe, and a partnership with the departmental council of La Réunion to address irrigation needs through wastewater treatment.

By sector, AFD’s activity declined in health and social protection (down 24%, including a 66% drop in commitments to the Global Health Initiative in 2025), and in vocational training and education (down 49%). Meanwhile, other areas gained momentum, such as energy (up 29%) and governance and migration management (up 75%).

The composition of AFD Group’s financial instruments is also shifting: loans now account for around 90% of total activity, compared to 10% for grants. By comparison, in 2023, loans made up 80% and grants 20%.

Disciplined management for greater efficiency

These results were achieved through disciplined use of public funds and sound management, with average annual net income exceeding €250 million over the past ten years. That benchmark is expected to be met once again in 2025. Even during the COVID-19 crisis, AFD never reported a loss. The Group has steadily strengthened its equity, which has doubled between 2015 and 2025 and could exceed €10 billion for the first time this year. Over the same period, productivity gains of around 50% have been recorded, based on the number of projects managed per employee. Numerous internal reforms have also been carried out, including through social dialogue - with 70 enterprise agreements signed in the past ten years.

The Group's optimization strategy also includes consolidating all its Paris-based teams at a single site in 2027, at the Gare d'Austerlitz. This move will reduce building-related operating costs by 20% and office space by 22%, down from six separate sites. The project involves no taxpayer funding and was financed in a historically low interest rate environment. It is being implemented strictly in line with the timeline and budget approved by AFD’s Board of Directors in January 2020. The new site is also expected to attract international organizations seeking to establish a presence in Paris, thereby supporting France’s global role as laid out in the law of 4 August 2021 on shared development and the fight against global inequalities.

"From the perspective of its Board of Directors, AFD has made significant progress: first, upstream, by systematically developing country strategies for the Group and leveraging synergies across the public, private, and technical cooperation pillars; and second, downstream, by improving its evaluation system at the end of projects, meaning the real impact of the commitments made," states Philippe Le Houérou, Chair of AFD’s Board of Directors.

"France and the international community are today marking the tenth anniversary of the Paris Agreement on climate. Since 2015, AFD Group, the first public development bank to be 100% aligned with the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, has mobilized to contribute effectively to France’s diplomatic and strategic priorities. In a geopolitical and fiscal context that calls for responsibility from all actors, AFD Group is once again demonstrating the strength of its economic model and the discipline of its action and management, to ensure that its financing delivers concrete, measurable, and replicable impacts," affirms Rémy Rioux, Chief Executive Officer of AFD Group.

"In 2025, Proparco continued to expand its operations, reaching a record €3.2 billion, driven by strong ambition in climate finance, support for entrepreneurship, operations in fragile contexts, and a new commitment to mobilizing private capital in support of the SDGs. For every euro committed by Proparco, one euro in private finance is mobilized. The trust of our partners and clients, particularly in France and Europe, and the dedication of the Proparco teams have been the cornerstone of this strong year, confirming the central role of the private sector in building inclusive and sustainable investment dynamics," explains Françoise Lombard, CEO of Proparco.

"Expertise France, which has doubled in size since 2020, had an exceptional year in 2025. This growth reflects the strengthening of our technical cooperation and its international appeal, serving both AFD Group and France’s broader international engagement," adds Jérémie Pellet, CEO of Expertise France.
 

(1) Provisional figures. The Group’s certified accounts will be published in the first half of 2026, in accordance with regulatory requirements.