Last year, the Asian Development Bank approved $433.8 million worth of technical assistance, contributing a mere 2 percent to total operations in 2013 — more than $21 billion in financing was signed off that year.
Technical assistance helps developing member countries build their capacity to manage donor funding and forge mutually beneficial regional relationships. It helps the bank determine, design and implement development projects that would have systemic impact on a borrower country’s socio-economic development.
And while the combined value of technical assistance operations is minuscule compared with loans and grants, it is in this area where individual consultants and development consulting firms can get the most business from ADB.