AFD // 2021 Universal Registration Document

PRESENTATION OF AFD Activities of the Agence Française de Développement Group in 2021

For the private sector, corporate loans amounted to €169M for 11 ɸ projects, from which a €20M deduction was made to take into account a partial cancellation of intra-annual commitments on a project. This level was very satisfactory and higher than the commitments made in 2020 (€91M) and 2019 (€117M), and was enabled by good commitment levels in the banking sector and in relation to energy transition infrastructure projects. The competitive environment for sector financing remained difficult in a context of significant liquidity and low interest rates. AFD remains fully mobilised in order to contribute to a sustainable recovery in the overseas territories for which the medium- or long-term repercussions of the crisis could prove to be more serious due to the size and specificities of some of these economies. 1.6.6 Intellectual production 1.6.6.1 Research, assessment and publication activities In April ɸ 2019, AFD’s Board of Directors adopted the research, innovation and knowledge strategy for the 2019-2022 period. It introduced two major changes to studies and research: (i) ɸ increasing the number of collaborations with local research partners in the AFD Group’s regions of operation, (ii) ɸ focusing the research agenda on the following areas: French policy priorities by focusing on a few key themes: climate/biodiversity, inequalities and social ties, growth. An initial mid-term review of this strategy presented at the end of 2021 attests to the progress made in these two areas: P 86%of the researchwork funded by AFD in 2019-2020 involved research teams from the Group’s regions of operation (target: 90%); P a recognised capacity to be at the forefront of key and emerging sustainable development topics: climate risk assessment, biodiversity financing, gender equality, contributions of the commons approach. It provides prospects for improvement by 2022 as regards (i) ɸ further developing partnerships with local players by strengthening the degree of involvement of research institutions from AFD’s regions of operation and (ii) ɸ reinforcing the link between research and public policy formulation. In 2021, the Covid-19 crisis continued to impact ongoing research activities due to the difficulties of international and local travel and the organisation of face-to-face events. Some of these challenges were overcome by making greater use of digital solutions, but delays in the execution of the work could not be avoided. Research programmes launched to analyse the consequences of the crisis were pursued (studies on Covid and the resilience of health systems in Africa and on the impact of Covid on the labour market in the MENA region) or completed (perception surveys in Africa and the French Overseas Departments and Collectivities, a differentiated analysis of the knowledge and attitudes of populations and caregivers in six

Activity in the private sector was at a satisfactory level in 2021 with €149M in direct loans granted, in addition to the €29M in guarantees (€28M for Sogefom and €1M for Fogap), for a total of €178M. Public sector loans amounted to €900M compared to €1.1bn in 2020. The Group maintained its overseas activity and played its countercyclical role by offering a response adapted to the scale of the crisis. Thus, out of the €900M in commitment approvals, €509M were granted in respect of non-subsidised loans, compared to €729M in 2020, a year marked by the support measures of the “French Overseas Departments and Collectivities” initiative, and in particular the SGLs, of €240M each, granted to the Collectivities of French Polynesia and New Caledonia for the partial financing of their safeguard plans. Non subsidised loans were mainly driven by a second SGL of €300M granted to French Polynesia. Subsidised loans (traditional subsidised loans, Green PSP and FCTVA) were in line with the trend of previous years, at €391M. They remained stable at a relatively low level, under the combined effect of the slowdown in local authority investments due to the Covid crisis, and local electoral cycles. In fact, the approach of the ballot traditionally affects the pace of investment, but the health crisis has severely disrupted the electoral calendar and has notably delayed the establishment of numerous municipal teams. The renewal of municipal councillors in large local authorities in 2021, as well as the closure of the European programmes for 2014-2020, may also explain the significant slowdown observed this year in subsidised commitments for the benefit of the regions and departments. In addition to the traditional subsidised loans (€169M), the subsidised loan intended to pre-finance the FCTVA rolled out in 2020 as part of the recovery plan amounted to €3M. This loan, which ultimately was only rolled out in Mayotte, due to a lack of applications in the other French Overseas Departments, aims to support local authority investment by enabling them to maintain good cash flow. Loans granted under the equivalent Green PSP-Green Fund continued to increase in 2021, amounting to €219M (+41%). This increase reflects the growing consideration of environmental issues and the fight against climate change in investments by the local public sector overseas. Lastly, 2021 was marked by the renewal of the French Overseas Departments and Collectivities Fund (FOM), which was dedicated to the implementation of the Recovery Plan in the French Overseas Departments and Collectivities. In 2021, the interventions of the French Overseas Departments and Collectivities Fund (€15M) mainly targeted engineering support for public project management in order to facilitate the initiation of investment projects included in the Recovery Plan. In addition, at the request of the French State, AFD provided technical support for the Patient-Cazeneuve system through the COROM contracts. Established in 2021 by the Ministry for French Overseas Departments and Collectivities, these contracts translate into a technical assistance and financial support service for overseas authorities in financial difficulty.

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2021 UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT