Created by the Malagasy State among the instruments for implementing the National Policy of Decentralization and Deconcentration (PN2D), the FDL as a national device for financing investments in Decentralized Territorial Communities has been consolidated by successive governments since its creation in 2006.

The FDL benefits from permanent funding from the State's own internal resources. From 2017, it integrates the management of the National Equalization Fund.