AFD - Universal Registration Document 2020

STATEMENT OF NON-FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE 2

Coordination with development actors: priority to partnership

2.6 Coordination with development actors: priority to partnership

In addition to the “CSO Ǿ Initiative”, AFD significantly developed its partnership with CSOs in 2020 and granted, across all funding mechanisms, more than €408M to French and international CSOs in all the regions where it operates. 2.6.2 Partnerships with European and Ǿ international players In 2020, the AFD Group continued its financial cooperation with the European Union. €363M in EU funds delegated to AFD were covered in resolutions by AFD bodies in 2020. Every year, AFD is audited by an external firm regarding management of EU delegated funds, and is subject to an obligation to send the audit assessment to the European Commission in order to be able to continue receiving funds. Globally, AFD financing approvals using resources from other sponsors topped €603.4M in 2020. AFD receives funds from other development players such as the Green Fund. The international and European partnerships division works in close collaboration with the external delegated funds unit and the legal department. It provides it with support for appraisal and monitoring/implementation of the projects carried out with these different partners, in order to control any risks of lack of coordination with the other participants or non-compliance with procedures in management of delegated funds. In addition, in 2020, as Chair of the IDFC, a club that brings together 26 national and regional development banks, the AFD Group co-organised Finance in Common as part of the Paris Peace Forum. This first World Summit of Public Development Banks (PDB) was held on 11 and 12 Ǿ November 2020 and enabled a new dynamic of conviction and mobilisation to be triggered. This 100% virtual summit resulted in numerous commitments made by the PDB thematic sub-coalitions, as well as a joint declaration signed by the ten networks of development banks and six multilateral development banks. This declaration is the ambitious roadmap that PDBs have set for themselves to support the transformation of the economy and societies towards sustainable and resilient development. Around 450 PDBs have made strong commitments, such as aligning their financing with the Paris Agreement, phasing out coal financing, promoting biodiversity, and taking better account of the fight against inequalities, particularly between women and men, and the application of the most stringent environmental and social standards. They also committed to forming the global Finance in Common, to promote cooperation and act in a coherent manner in the service of the planet and its populations. In 2021, AFD will ensure the implementation of its commitments, contribute to the structuring of the coalition and ensure the sustainability of Finance in Common dynamic.

As part of its 2018-2022 Strategic orientation plan, adopted by the AFD Board of Directors in July Ǿ 2018 (1) , the AFD Group has set itself the target of becoming the bilateral platform of the French development policy, and undertakes to place a partnership approach at the heart of all of its interventions, and to contribute to any partnership or coalition that brings added operating value – whether in terms of finance, expertise, analysis or network – and the means to capitalise and innovate. 2.6.1 Partnerships 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, published on the Agency’s website (2) . The funding granted under the “CSO Ǿ Initiatives” strategy continued to increase, reaching €105M in 2020. This amount corresponds to the funding of 104 Ǿ projects initiated by French CSOs with their partners from developing countries. At the request of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, an additional €10M were added for the dedicated funding of CSO initiative projects in response to the crisis caused by Covid-19, which benefited 17 additional projects. During the year, AFD also renewed three multi-year partnership agreements for French CSOs: Humanité et Inclusion (formerly Handicap International), Médecins du Monde (MDM) and Action Contre la Faim (ACF). At the end of 2020, the portfolio of projects under implementation under the “CSO Ǿ Initiatives” system included 494 CSO projects. More than 72% of funding granted in 2020 was invested in operations on the ground (most of which were Africa-related). The main sectors targeted are, in order of importance, education and health (26% each), human rights and governance (21%), agriculture and food security (10%) and lastly, environment, energy and climate (7%). Around 28% of the funding granted was invested in public interest projects (education in citizenship and international solidarity – ECSI, and structuring of the voluntary sector). The Covid-19 crisis has strongly affected French CSOs in their internal activities and their interventions in the field. The mobilisation of financial resources was disrupted and made more complex with the withdrawal of certain private donors. AFD paid particular attention to the difficulties encountered by CSOs; it was able to make its procedures more flexible, increase its co-financing rate and accept an increase in the indirect costs of projects in 2021. It strengthened its dialogue through close monitoring to understand the adaptation and resilience strategies developed by French CSOs.

(1) This is the AFD Group’s overall strategy, published on the AFD website: https://www.afd.fr/fr/plan-dorientation-strategique-2018-2022 (2) https://www.afd.fr/sites/afd/files/2018-06-04-17-28/Strat%C3%A9gie-OSC-VF-version-finale.pdf

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2020 UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT