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Our financial partners
As the French development cooperation agency, Expertise France is very much a European agency. In 2024, for example, over half our new funding (56%) came from the European Union (EU), followed by French government ministries (26%) and the Agence Française de Développement Group (17%).
Through our sources of funding, we also coordinate multi-donor funding streams from the EU, the AFD Group, and France, via the Crisis and Support Centre, the Security and Defence Cooperation Directorate, the Team France Fund, and the network of international technical experts (ITEs).
We also act as a coordinator of funding from multiple financial partners, implementing multi-donor projects. We occasionally draw on private sector or foundation financing.
How our projects are funded
Each funding arrangement depends on the funder(s) supporting the project.
The European Union
As Europe’s second-largest development agency, the EU is our main funder and partner, having financed 56% of the cost of new projects in 2024.
Expertise France is certified to implement the EU’s delegated cooperation funds. This certification was renewed in 2021, and positions us as a preferred project implementation partner. It also allows us the freedom to operate according to our own procedures, including direct contracting without competitive tendering.
This partnership is reinforced by our position within the AFD Group, enabling more coordinated and effective responses to EU development aid priorities. We are also involved in many EU cooperation programmes such as El PAcCTO, EUROSociAL+, EUROCLIMA+, SOCIEUX+ and Rethinking Plastics – all EU-funded programmes fostering knowledge sharing and common development mechanisms between Member States.
French ministries
French ministries decide on France’s strategic priorities for international partnerships as well as inclusive and sustainable development investment. But they also actively carry through these priorities, financing 26% of our new projects in 2024. Most of this funding comes from the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economy, Finance, and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty.
We also receive support from other French ministries including the Ministry of the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Justice.
The Agence Française de Développement (AFD Group)
As France’s public development bank, the AFD Group provides funding and support to international partners and their operations via a broad range of mechanisms, including loans, grants, as well as debt reduction and development contracts. In 2024, the Group financed 17% of Expertise France’s 162 new projects, totalling €800 million.
The three entities of the AFD Group – AFD, Proparco, and Expertise France – work together to ensure optimal synergy and provide more effective and ambitious support for France’s development cooperation policy. Whereas AFD funds projects, we coordinate and implement them to complement AFD’s financial services with our technical expertise.
The United Nations
We collaborate with the United Nations, notably within the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which operates in 170 countries and territories to further the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of eradicating poverty and reducing inequalities.
Expertise France works with the UN on justice and health issues, mainly. For example, the UN funds a justice sector support programme in Djibouti. Likewise UNITAID, a global health organisation that reduces inequality in access to health products, is involved in funding SUCCESS, a cervical cancer prevention project implemented by Expertise France in Côte d’Ivoire, Guatemala, and the Philippines.
L’Initiative: a key component in France’s global health strategy
Our collaboration with the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs also includes the financing of L’Initiative, a key instrument of France’s global health policy and another of the projects we help manage at Expertise France.
Launched in 2011 by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, L’Initiative complements the Global Fund’s efforts to combat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria by financing top priority health programmes that sustainably transform health policies and practices. L’Initiative has become a key component in the fight against these three pandemics.
Other sources of funding
Besides the institutions listed above, Expertise France also receives funding from:
- International organisations: World Bank, International Monetary Fund, etc.
- French local authorities, such as the Île-de-France and Nouvelle-Aquitaine regional authorities
- Foundations such as the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage (ALIPH)
- Non-governmental organisations
- The private sector
Our accountability policy
As the French project coordination agency, we have developed strong administrative and financial management capacities to ensure both financial viability and performance monitoring in projects. Together, these ensure project accountability. Our accountability policy includes firm commitments to transparency, project oversight, and evaluation.
The impact of each project is taken into account right from the design phase. This ensures every euro is used effectively, delivering tangible outcomes and returns on investment.
Each year, Expertise France reports to its Administrative Board on progress made towards the goals and indicators set out in its multiannual Contract of Objectives and Means with the French government.
Resources for download
Key figures 2024
- 20% of funding for new projects contributed to environmental objectives
- 60% of new French-funded projects had a primary or significant focus on gender equality
- 50% of French funding went to Least Developed Countries and economically fragile countries
