The state of French aid: A look into AFD’s €21 billion portfolio

France was the world’s fifth-largest bilateral donor last year, and for decades, it has spent tens of billions to support development and humanitarian causes across the globe. But similar to many Western donors, French aid has seen a sustained decline in the past couple of years. Based on the data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, France’s total official development assistance, or ODA, went down to $15 billion in 2023 from $17.3 billion in 2022 — the first time since 2018 that French aid suffered a real-term decline. Despite this trend, France remains among the most generous donors, with the preliminary data showing ODA in 2024 of $15.4 billion, or 0.48% of its gross national income. French aid is channeled through several government agencies. According to OECD, the French Development Agency — also known as Agence Française de Développement, or AFD — accounted for about 39% of France’s ODA disbursement in 2023, worth nearly $6.9 billion. But exactly how does AFD fund development? And what are its priorities? What do the top-level figures say? AFD is part of the larger AFD Group, which includes Expertise France, the lead agency for technical cooperation, and Proparco, a subsidiary of AFD serving as France’s development finance institution. AFD’s funding model is different from most government agencies. It uses its government subsidies to borrow from other sources and lend them on. According to its website, 85% of AFD’s annual commitments, amounting to between €9 billion and €10 billion — and between €12 billion and €13 billion at Groupe level, which is $14.1 billion to $15.3 billion in current rates — are loans. These loans are a combination of soft loans — adjusted rates — and market-rate loans made to its clients worldwide, which are done through bond transactions with private investors, funds, and central banks, as well as blending with subsidies or grants. The remaining 15%, or about €2 billion, are grants from the French government, the European Union, and other delegates meant to finance high-impact projects. In addition to its €12 billion annual commitments, AFD generates an additional €12 billion through cofinancing, bringing its total annual financing capacity to €24 billion. AFD utilizes various funding mechanisms to support development projects worldwide. Currently, it has €55.2 billion invested across 2,490 active projects. Of this, 703 projects are financed via loans, worth a total of €43.1 billion in commitments — 78 % of AFD’s total active portfolio. Grants for projects make up another 22% of the portfolio, with €12 billion committed to date. The remaining active projects are funded through other mechanisms, including technical assistance — often delivered as in-kind training and support — and lines of credit. These figures only represent AFD’s financing and do not include cofinancing from other donors, which means that in some cases, the total project costs can be higher. We also converted non-Euro currencies using historical rates. Where does AFD invest its money? AFD currently has active projects in 111 countries. Regionally, it has invested more than half of its total investments in Africa, worth €29.2 billion. Asia ranked next among priority regions, with €13.5 billion, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean, with €5.9 billion. AFD also allocated €2 billion to French overseas territories, and €3 billion to its Three Oceans strategy, which puts together three geographic areas: the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific basins. Among countries, Côte d'Ivoire has the highest number of commitments, with 55 projects committed to date, including both loans and grants, totaling €3.3 billion. In terms of loans alone, Morocco leads with €3 billion in committed financing across 32 loan-funded projects. What are AFD’s sectoral priorities? Our findings show that the majority of AFD’s projects have multiple target sectors. Across sectors, water and sanitation emerges as the top investment area, with active projects representing €8.2 billion in commitments — 15% of AFD’s overall portfolio. We also counted the number of times a sector is tagged in a project, which may be useful to identify priorities, especially for multisectoral projects. Based on our analysis, energy is either the sole priority or among the target areas in 186 of the 427 active projects. Climate ranked next, appearing as a target in 144 projects, then water and sanitation, with 134 projects, and sustainable cities, with 118 projects. Other most-tagged sectors include education and training, with 100 projects, infrastructure, with 88 projects, and governance, with 82 projects. Update, Nov. 5, 2025: This article has been updated to reflect additional information provided by the French Development Agency. 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.