AFD // 2021 Universal Registration Document

STATEMENT OF NON-FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE Coordination with development players: the “Priority to partnership”

It is essential to engage in dialogue with local authorities, communities and associations regarding projects proposed for funding, in particular those presenting environmental and social risks, to take their opinions and concerns into consideration and

thereby improve the living conditions of populations and the sustainability of projects.

2.6 Coordination with development players: the “Priority to partnership”

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2.6.1 Partnership with civil society organisations In 2018, the AFD Board of Directors adopted a new cross-cutting partnership strategy with civil society organisations (CSOs) for the 2018-2023 period (2) . The funding granted under the “CSO ɸ Initiatives” strategy continued to increase, reaching €116M in 2021. This amount corresponds to the funding of 145 ɸ projects initiated by French CSOs with their partners from developing countries. During the year, AFD also renewed several multi-year partnership agreements (MPAs) signed in 2019, at the end of a first two-year implementation phase. They involve three CSOs with which AFD maintains long-term partnerships: CCFD (Comité catholique contre la faim et pour le développement), IECD (Institut européen de coopération et de développement) and AVSF (Agronomes et vétérinaires sans frontières). A new multi-year partnership agreement was also signed with Secours Catholique. New MPAs will be pursued in 2022. At the end of 2021, the portfolio of projects whose implementation is being monitored included 528 CSO projects for a total cofunding amount of around €445M. Nearly 89% of the financing granted in 2021 benefited interventions in the field. The majority of these transactions focuses on Africa. Financing still targets a variety of sectors, in order of importance: agriculture and food security, human rights and governance, education and vocational training, health, and, to a lesser extent, climate and biodiversity, economic development and entrepreneurship, and water and sanitation. Of the funding granted, 11% was for general interest projects, of which 36% for projects to structure non-profit organisations, and 64% for projects on citizenship education and international solidarity. Since 2020, the Covid-19 crisis has impacted French CSOs, with regard to both their internal activities and their field interventions. The mobilisation of financial resources was disrupted and made more complex with the withdrawal of some private donors. AFD paid particular attention to the difficulties encountered by CSOs; it was able to make its procedures more flexible, to increase its cofunding rate and to accept an increase in the indirect costs of projects in 2021 and 2022 (14%). It strengthened its dialogue through close monitoring to understand the adaptation and resilience strategies developed by French CSOs.

As part of its 2018-2022 Strategic Orientation Plan, adopted by the AFD Board of Directors in July ɸ 2018, the AFD group aims to become the bilateral platform of the French development policy, and is committed to placing the partnership approach at the heart of its interventions. Over the last four years, advocacy efforts and efforts to mobilise partners and coalitions of stakeholders to promote the alignment of financial flows with the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals have thus been reinforced. Despite the health crisis, the mobilisation of external financial resources, through the delegation of resources or through cofunding, remained a structuring factor for the Group. Beyond the mobilisation of resources, 2021 was marked by the re-election of the AFD Chief Executive Officer to the head of the IDFC (International Development Finance Club), a network of 27 public development banks, which is a powerful illustration of the partnership approach of the AFD group. As the Chair, AFD sought to inject a new dynamic into the Club, by further raising the goals on climate finance and the alignment with the Paris Agreement, as well as on the achievement of the SDGs (1) . Over his new term of office, the Chief Executive Officer will pursue this strategy, while preparing the Club for a transfer of the Chair to a Southern bank at the end of 2023. 2021 was also marked by the second FiCS (Finance in Common Summit), co-organised with the Italian Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP). A leitmotif now structuring the partnerships of the AFD group, the preparation of the second edition of the summit held in October ɸ 2021 gave rise to a very active dialogue with our international partners, including as part of the “Finance” section of the G20. The support of the Italian Presidency proved decisive. For the first time, the final statement by the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors recognised the role of the global coalition of public development banks in aligning with the Paris Agreement and achieving the SDGs. With this mandate, the coalition is now able to reinforce its contribution to the various key stages of international coordination for sustainable development. Lastly, 2021 was also marked by the creation of the TNFD (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosure): its “Public institutions” hub is located in Paris and its secretariat is coordinated by AFD, thus attesting to the recognition of AFD’s expertise in biodiversity issues.

(1) See Section ࣢ 5.4.3.3 “A stronger partnership strategy”. (2) https://www.afd.fr/en/ressources/partnerships-civil-society-organizations-2018-2023-strategy

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2021 UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT