This week, we’re in the middle of COP30 — the world’s most important climate conference. And we’re taking a look at the support offered by a prominent climate funder, the Global Environment Facility.
Also in today’s edition: Who funds central Africa? What happened in Doha, and all the data on key jobs in 2025.
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As COP30 gets into full flow this week in Belém, Brazil, on the doorstep of the Amazon rain forest, we’ve taken a deep dive into one of the largest climate funders, the Global Environment Facility.
Established in 1991, with the backing of most of the major donor nations, GEF has so far provided over $26 billion in funding, and mobilized another $153 billion in cofinancing. Over the last five years, it’s approved 1,162 projects worth a total of $6.4 billion, with climate change the single largest cause it’s worked on.
Read: What did the Global Environment Facility spend $6.4 billion on? (Pro)
This week, we’ve got three great events for you. Tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET, we’ll hear from Jamie Drummond of the ONE Campaign on the need to get rid of outdated language in development.
On Wednesday at 8 a.m. ET, we’ll hear from Cynthia Hansen, managing director of the Innovation Foundation, the global foundation of the Adecco Group. She will talk about how her organization is taking a fresh approach to corporate philanthropy.
And on Thursday at 9 a.m. ET, we’ll have insights from two veteran consultants in global health on how to build a career in their field.
We publish tenders, grants, and other funding announcements on our Funding Platform. Here are some of those viewed the most in the past 10 days.
The Asian Development Bank has approved a $32 million financing package to support disaster preparedness through innovation and technology in Mongolia.
The European Investment Bank has disbursed a total of €100 million ($115 million) to support economic resilience and critical municipal heating infrastructure in Ukraine.
The European Union is releasing €21.5 million ($24 million) in humanitarian aid to support Colombia, Venezuela, and three Caribbean countries affected by worsening humanitarian crises and Hurricane Melissa.
The French development agency AFD is inviting companies to bid to conduct a study into behavioral factors influencing the demand for eldercare in Morocco.
The government of Australia will provide an additional $10 million in humanitarian assistance to support civilians in Sudan.
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Devex has produced a series of analyses looking at the main aid regions, as defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, keeping track of how much funding each region receives, and from whom. This year, we’ve checked how much funding each region receives from the United States, with the understanding that this funding may be substantially at risk in future years.
Our latest analysis looks at central Africa, which includes nine countries, most notably the Democratic Republic of Congo, a longtime aid hot spot.
The region received $3.7 billion in 2023 — the most recent year for which we have complete figures. Almost half of this, $1.7 billion, came from the U.S.
Read: How much aid goes to central Africa? (Pro)
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Last week, development leaders were in Doha, Qatar, to discuss a number of key issues at the World Summit on Social Development. It’s the second such summit, three decades after the first, in Copenhagen, Denmark.
My colleague Elissa Miolene has penned a special edition of our daily newsletter. There, she writes that Tuesday saw the formal endorsement of the Doha Political Declaration which recommitted countries to eradicating poverty, expanding employment opportunities, and boosting social inclusion.
Those three things were identified by the document as the key themes of social development, and of the conference. But, like COP30, the conference was hampered by the absence of the United States, which, since the start of the year, has largely eschewed international gatherings focused on development.
Read: In Doha, a fraying world tries to stitch itself back together
Last week was Career Week at Devex, where we focused our attention on changes in the jobs market in 2025. It’s been a tumultuous year, with changes driven, as with all the above, primarily by the sudden shift in approach to aid from the United States. Particularly relevant to Money Matters readers may be a shift in how business development roles have changed, but we also looked at the way jobs are changing in Africa and the United States, how development consultancy has been upended, and how AI is changing the game.
And for a full summary of the way key roles have been affected, download our latest report.
All the content is accessible to anyone who holds any of the three Devex professional memberships — Career Account, Pro, or Pro Funding.
Read: How BD roles have changed in development in 2025 (Career)
Download: What happened to key development roles in 2025? (Career)
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Masana wa Afrika is an African-based grantmaker working to strengthen direct support for African community-based organizations and to help other funders reach local organizations.
Today, it funds 135 partners across 13 countries in East and southern Africa — from Lesotho to Malawi to Uganda — with active plans to expand into West Africa, beginning with Ghana and Senegal.
Its grants are multiyear and unrestricted, allowing local organizations to apply resources where they matter most.
Last week, Devex held a Pro Funding Briefing to find out more about the organization’s approach.
Read: This grantmaker offers a model for long-term, African-led philanthropy (Pro)
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