Money Matters: How Japan approaches aid

Japan is one of the world's largest contributors of aid. Yet, many in the global development sector know little about the nature of the Asian country’s development strategy. We went behind the numbers to provide you, dear reader, with insights into Japan’s approach to aid. + Are there topics you want to read more about in Money Matters? We want your feedback. Giving spirit Japan is the largest donor in Asia, my colleague Alecsondra Kieren Si has found. Last year, it gave more funding than any country not named the United States or Germany — a total of $17.5 billion on a grant-equivalent basis, or 0.39% of its gross national income, according to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Interestingly, Japan’s approach to aid differs compared to most other major economies. Around 68% of its funding in 2021 was in loans, compared to 9% for the average member of OECD’s Development Assistance Committee. Read: A primer on Japanese aid (Pro) Read more: How Japan plans to spend $30B in Africa (Pro) + Interested in more funding coverage? Explore our funding overview page and set up news alerts for funding articles. And if you haven’t, start a 15-day free trial of Devex Pro today to access all our exclusive content. Funding activity We publish tenders, grants, and other funding announcements on our Funding Platform. Here are some of the ones that have been viewed the most in the past 10 days. ADB is seeking consultancy services to improve the sewage system and enhance the water supply service in Bangladesh. DG INTPA has announced a €13 million ($14 million) grant to increase community resilience and accelerate economic recovery in Mozambique. IDB has announced a project worth $6.5 million to strengthen cybersecurity in Jamaica. The World Bank is hiring a consultancy firm to develop a legal and regulatory framework for renewable energy in Tanzania. UNOPS is seeking services to establish a regional baseline on the status and impact of marine plastic pollution in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states. + Try out Devex Pro Funding today with a free five-day trial, and explore funding opportunities from over 850 sources in addition to our analysis and news content. Spending priorities The African Development Bank, the concessional lender to African countries, seemingly funded fewer projects in 2022, according to an analysis by Alecsondra. The bank allocated $3.9 billion in 2022, a decrease of around $1.2 billion from the previous year. The bank also greenlit fewer projects in 2022: 75, compared to 91 projects in 2021. The countries covered by the bank also decreased in the same year: from 33 to 30. We dug into the numbers to identify the bank’s sectoral and geographical priorities, as well as its top projects. Read: AfDB put nearly $4B into new projects in 2022. Where did it go? (Pro) More on AfDB: Bank head says to tackle climate, Africa needs ‘finance and more finance’ Consequences Uganda’s passage of a law that in some cases could lead to the death penalty for people in the LGBTQ+ community has infuriated donors. USAID Administrator Samantha Power says the law was “an unconscionable attack on an already marginalized group,” and the now former World Bank President David Malpass tells Devex that it was an “affront to the values of the World Bank.” The two joined a chorus of outrage that emerged after the announcement that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni had signed the legislation into law. Museveni’s move now threatens the pause of billions of dollars the country receives from both the World Bank and USAID. Power says her agency will “evaluate the impact of this law on our policy, relationship, and assistance toward Uganda,” and Malpass tells my colleague Shabtai Gold that “We are reviewing our portfolio of projects and next steps.” Read: World Bank, USAID aid billions for Uganda jeopardized by anti-gay law Also read: Uganda’s new anti-LGBTQ law could make PEPFAR's work ‘illegal’ New sheriff in town Speaking of the World Bank, Malpass is out and Ajay Banga is in. Shabtai spoke to people who know Banga and garnered some interesting insights about the Indian-born new president of the financial institution. “When Ajay is committed to something, he is unshakable,” says Shamina Singh, the founder of the Center for Inclusive Growth. Banga takes over the world’s largest anti-poverty lender at a time of heightened expectations. “In many ways, he is taking on an institution with an enormous footprint and enormous potential for impact but not quite achieving it,” says Bhaskar Chakravorti, a professor at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy who has known the 63-year-old Banga for decades. “He’s done this before, stepped into organizations in the past, most recently Mastercard, where he was taking over an organization that was operating beneath its potential.” Can he succeed? I guess time will tell. Read: Ajay Banga faces great expectations as he takes helm of World Bank Related: The good, bad, and meh in the World Bank's reform plan (Pro) + On Friday, we hosted an insightful discussion on Twitter Spaces on the expectations and challenges facing Banga in his new role. Listen to the full conversation. I wrote this week’s Money Matters while listening to “Number One Remix” by Diamond featuring Davido. 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