• News
    • Latest news
    • News search
    • Health
    • Finance
    • Food
    • Career news
    • Content series
    • Try Devex Pro
  • Jobs
    • Job search
    • Post a job
    • Employer search
    • CV Writing
    • Upcoming career events
    • Try Career Account
  • Funding
    • Funding search
    • Funding news
  • Talent
    • Candidate search
    • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Events
    • Upcoming and past events
    • Partner on an event
  • Post a job
  • About
      • About us
      • Membership
      • Newsletters
      • Advertising partnerships
      • Devex Talent Solutions
      • Contact us
Join DevexSign in
Join DevexSign in

News

  • Latest news
  • News search
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Career news
  • Content series
  • Try Devex Pro

Jobs

  • Job search
  • Post a job
  • Employer search
  • CV Writing
  • Upcoming career events
  • Try Career Account

Funding

  • Funding search
  • Funding news

Talent

  • Candidate search
  • Devex Talent Solutions

Events

  • Upcoming and past events
  • Partner on an event
Post a job

About

  • About us
  • Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising partnerships
  • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Contact us
  • My Devex
  • Update my profile % complete
  • Account & privacy settings
  • My saved jobs
  • Manage newsletters
  • Support
  • Sign out
Latest newsNews searchHealthFinanceFoodCareer newsContent seriesTry Devex Pro
    • News
    • In the news: French Development Agency

    New AFD strategy retains focus on Africa, doubles budget for NGOs

    France has put sustainable development at the heart of its development program, which in the next four years will focus on sub-Saharan African and the Mediterranean regions.

    By Ivy Mungcal // 12 October 2012
    Women collect millet in North Darfur, Sudan. The Agence Française de Développement will focus on agriculture and food security, among other priorities, in sub-Saharan Africa. Photo by: Africa Renewal / CC BY-NC-SA

    France has put sustainable development at the heart of its development program, which in the next four years will focus on sub-Saharan African and the Mediterranean regions.

    This is in line with the new strategic orientation adopted Oct. 9 by the board of directors of the Agence Française de Développement. The four-year plan confirms AFD’s role as the main agency in charge of the French development program. It also outlines geographic and sector priorities for French aid.

    In sub-Saharan Africa, France will focus on agriculture, food security, sustainable urban development and infrastructure, particularly for transport and renewable energy. AFD said it will spend more than 60 percent of its aid budget on projects in the region.

    Meanwhile, AFD plans to allocate 20 percent of its aid budget to countries in the Mediterranean region. This will be disbursed as loans and technical assistance in coordination with the European Union’s financing instruments for the region. Priority sectors include jobs creation, institutional development, and the reduction of territorial and social inequalities.

    In emerging countries, AFD is set to focus on knowledge transfer and experience sharing through a combination of financing and technical assistance for climate change and sustainable urban development, among other similar sectors.

    AFD’s new strategy also lays out the agency’s plan for conflict, post-conflict, transitioning and fragile states: Focus on projects that can deliver rapid results and build local capacity. In French overseas communities, meanwhile, AFD will support housing and urban development initiatives.

    In addition to these priorities, the new strategy calls for a strong partnership between AFD and French civil society, particularly those involved in decentralization projects in developing countries. The agency will double its funding for such groups from €45 million ($58.24 million) in the previous four-year plan to €90 million for 2013-2017.

    In line with the new strategy, AFD is also expected to invest in the development of new financial products and financial tools, set up a fund for “demand for expertise” requests from partner countries, and continue consolidating lessons from its projects.

    Find AFD projects and tenders. Read more development aid news online, and subscribe to The Development Newswire to receive top international development headlines from the world’s leading donors, news sources and opinion leaders — emailed to you FREE every business day.

    • Funding
    Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).

    About the author

    • Ivy Mungcal

      Ivy Mungcal

      As former senior staff writer, Ivy Mungcal contributed to several Devex publications. Her focus is on breaking news, and in particular on global aid reform and trends in the United States, Europe, the Caribbean, and the Americas. Before joining Devex in 2009, Ivy produced specialized content for U.S. and U.K.-based business websites.

    Search for articles

    Related Stories

    Economic developmentInside the United States’ new ‘trade, not aid’ strategy in Africa

    Inside the United States’ new ‘trade, not aid’ strategy in Africa

    Devex InvestedDevex Invested: ‘Trade, not aid’ in Africa. But how?

    Devex Invested: ‘Trade, not aid’ in Africa. But how?

    Funding insights4 strategies for diversifying funding in a post-USAID world

    4 strategies for diversifying funding in a post-USAID world

    European UnionEurope is cutting development spending, and it's not because of Trump

    Europe is cutting development spending, and it's not because of Trump

    Most Read

    • 1
      The power of diagnostics to improve mental health
    • 2
      Lasting nutrition and food security needs new funding — and new systems
    • 3
      Opinion: Urgent action is needed to close the mobile gender gap
    • 4
      Supporting community-driven solutions to address breast cancer
    • 5
      The top local employers in Europe
    • News
    • Jobs
    • Funding
    • Talent
    • Events

    Devex is the media platform for the global development community.

    A social enterprise, we connect and inform over 1.3 million development, health, humanitarian, and sustainability professionals through news, business intelligence, and funding & career opportunities so you can do more good for more people. We invite you to join us.

    • About us
    • Membership
    • Newsletters
    • Advertising partnerships
    • Devex Talent Solutions
    • Post a job
    • Careers at Devex
    • Contact us
    © Copyright 2000 - 2025 Devex|User Agreement|Privacy Statement