How is the U.S. Agency for International Development spending its money this quarter? We looked into the numbers and found out what opportunities are in the multibillion-dollar agency’s pipeline for the months to come.
Also in this edition: Warren Buffett’s inheritance plan, a climate finance wrap-up, and a deeper look into the WHO Foundation.
USAID added 57 new opportunities to its pipeline this quarter, a $3.2 billion sum that’s been split across USAID missions and Washington, D.C. The addition of these awards — and the removal of others — brought the total value of its current pipeline to $23.3 billion, a $2.3 billion drop from last quarter.
This is a preview of Devex Money Matters
Sign up to this weekly newsletter and get the latest in development funding in your inbox every Monday.
My colleague Miguel Antonio Tamonan crunched the numbers, finding that 51 of the new opportunities — worth $1.76 billion — will be procured at USAID missions. Coming out on top is the Democratic Republic of Congo, with $350 million to spread across four contracts, followed by USAID’s Afghanistan mission with an allocation of $200 million, and Pakistan with $125 million.
But the single biggest contract is back in Washington, D.C. — a $1 billion opportunity from the agency’s Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance.
Interact with the data: Inside USAID’s $23.3B business forecast (Pro)
+ Have you downloaded your copy of our up-to-date report breaking down USAID’s progress on localization? Get yours now and uncover the critical steps USAID has taken and see what the future holds for this pivotal initiative.
We publish tenders, grants, and other funding announcements on our Funding Platform. Here are some of the ones which have been viewed the most in the past 10 days.
The Gates Foundation has allocated $1.5 million to improve the cost-effectiveness of tuberculosis screening in Asia.
The Inter-American Development Bank approved a $40 million loan to help bolster the readiness of Suriname’s educational system for information and communication technology.
UNOPS is seeking an implementing partner for strengthening health systems and better disease management in Asia.
USAID is providing $66.8 million as food security and humanitarian assistance in Zambia.
The United States Department of State has opened a $7.5 million grant competition to combat human trafficking worldwide.
The World Bank announced a $2.48 billion project for the advancement of the digital economy in eastern and southern Africa.
+ 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.
Billionaire philanthropist Warren Buffett has made it clear: When he dies, donations to the Gates Foundation will go with him.
“The Gates Foundation has no money coming after my death,” the nearly 94-year-old Buffett told The Wall Street Journal in a story published last Friday.
Instead, Buffett said all his remaining wealth will go to a new charitable trust overseen by his three children, who must decide unanimously on which foundations, organizations, and causes they’d like to support. The Buffett children — who are now 70, 69, and 66 — currently fund a number of different causes, from reproductive rights to conflict mitigation to work with indigenous communities.
“I like to think I can think outside the box, but I’m not sure if I can think outside the box when it’s 6 feet below the surface and do a better job than three people who are on the surface who I trust completely,” Buffett told The Wall Street Journal.
It’s a sharp turn for Buffett, who has donated $43 billion to the Gates Foundation over the past years. He served as a trustee of the foundation until 2021 but resigned soon after Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates announced their divorce.
“Warren Buffett has been exceedingly generous to the Gates Foundation through more than 18 years of contributions and advice,” the foundation’s CEO, Mark Suzman, said in a statement. “He has played an invaluable role in championing and shaping the foundation’s work to create a world where every person can live a healthy, productive life.”
Four years after its launch, the WHO Foundation has funneled $24 million to the World Health Organization. It’s a small sliver of WHO’s $6.83 billion budget — but cash isn’t the only thing the foundation is bringing to the table. It’s also about ensuring that funding to WHO is priority-driven, the foundation’s CEO, Anil Soni, tells us — and that new donors are being pulled into the conversation every step of the way.
In the latest episode of Devex’s This Week in Global Development podcast, my colleagues Sara Jerving and Raj Kumar spoke with Soni to learn more about WHO Foundation’s impact.
Read: The foundation bringing in private sector finance to WHO (Pro)
Listen now: A look at WHO Foundation's work, and Gavi’s new replenishment target
+ From July 22-26, join us for Devex Pro Week featuring exclusive, in-depth events and analysis on the key forces shaping global development. To celebrate, we're offering $100 off an annual Devex Pro membership.
Not yet gone Pro? Sign up now and gain full access to Pro Week as well as Devex Pro content for a year.
The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, which funds private sector development projects across the world, has grown exponentially since its launch in 2019. In five years, the agency has doubled its staff size from 300 to 600, my colleague Anna Gawel reports, while its lending exposure cap has jumped from $29 billion to $60 billion.
With that growth comes even bigger plans, DFC head Scott Nathan said at a Devex event last week — including the ramp-up of its goal to serve as an alternative lending vehicle to China.
“Where I like to bring it back to is this question of what does American global leadership mean at this moment?” said Nathan, speaking at our event in Washington, D.C. “We get value out of this. This isn't charity. This is about our sense of what our country stands for and our ability to try to impact others.”
To do that, the agency is pushing for congressional reauthorization of the BUILD Act, which established DFC in 2019. But despite the relative bipartisan support, the agency hasn’t been spared from congressional politics — with a Republican lawmaker recently blasting DFC for pursuing a “woke agenda” by funding areas like climate change.
Read more: US Development Finance Corporation hopes to BUILD on its future (Pro)
Last Tuesday, Devex hosted a daylong event on climate finance during London Climate Action Week. Philanthropists, researchers, and organization leaders came together to discuss one of the great challenges facing the climate sector — how money can be driven where it’s needed most.
Some talked about how blended finance mechanisms were evolving in emerging markets. Others assessed how many dollars were going toward communities on the front lines of climate change. And the president of the COP 26 U.N. climate conference, Alok Sharma, drummed up the urgency — pushing for more private sector engagement to further unlock climate financing.
+ Check out more news from our climate finance coverage.
Sign up to Money Matters for an inside look at the biggest stories in development funding.