AFD and the World Bank: A Partnership for Global Progress

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In an era where global challenges such as climate change, poverty, and fragility demand concerted action, the partnership between the Groupe Agence Française de Développement (AFD Group) and the World Bank provides an excellent example of the power of collaboration. The World Bank and AFD have established a strong and enduring partnership founded on a shared vision of sustainable development.

A new report, Scaling Up Global Partnerships:The AFD Group and the World Bank Group, recognizes and celebrates the partnership between the two organizations.  Highlighting examples of successful collaboration at various levels of engagement -- from global and thematic to country and project levels --  the report also provides suggestions to replicate and scale up the partnership's success.

Since 2018, the AFD–World Bank partnership has enabled billions of dollars in co-financing to be channeled into transformative development projects—actively promoting socio-economic progress, building stability and security in fragile settings, investing in health and education to strengthen countries’ human capital, and taking a strong and resolute stand on the climate crisis—ultimately maximizing the development impact of both institutions. As part of the Finance in Common movement, the World Bank and AFD Group are demonstrating that public development banks - bilateral and multilateral - can work together to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement.

With multiple crises worldwide straining the resources of governments and donors, threatening hard-won development gains, and presenting ever more complex and difficult development challenges, partnerships such as the World Bank Group – AFD Group are increasingly essential. Key elements that have contributed to the success of the partnership include a culture of collaboration, technical expertise, and the ability to mobilize finance.

Culture of Collaboration  

COVID-19 severely impacted Brazil’s population, causing health, economic, and social crises of unprecedented levels, particularly among the poorest and most vulnerable. In response to the pandemic, the World Bank, the AFD Group, and other development partners collaborated with the Government of Brazil to strengthen the Bolsa Familia program, which provides financial support to impoverished families and promotes access to health and education services. In 2020, the World Bank Group contributed $1 billion and AFD added $240 million, including $84 million for existing Bolsa Familia beneficiaries, to enhance Brazil’s social protection services in response to the crisis. This support, which led to a more efficient operation and helped maintain low costs throughout the process, underscored the importance of co-financing to align development funds with a country’s priorities.

Technical Expertise

In 2020, the Government of Togo implemented strict containment measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This had a significant impact on the informal sector and led to an additional 300,000 people falling into extreme poverty. To mitigate these effects, the government launched the Novissi program: a digital cash transfer system that quickly provided financial aid to vulnerable citizens. Despite challenges, such as limited connectivity and administrative capacity, Togo was able to rapidly scale up the program, with technical and financial support from the AFD and the World Bank’s IDA-funded Safety Nets and Basic Services project.

“Novissi showcased groundbreaking collaboration and trust among the Government of Togo, the World Bank, and the French Development Agency (AFD),” says Cina Lawson, Togo’s Minister for Digital Economy and Digital Transformation. “This initiative merged innovation with leadership, targeting support for the most vulnerable using cutting-edge and cost-efficient tools.”

Mobilization of Finance

In Angola, the Commercial Agriculture Development Project (PDAC) helps farmers and small agribusinesses adopt better technologies, improve skills, gain access to financial markets, and process and commercialize their products. As co-financiers of the project, AFD and the World Bank play on their comparative advantage and support local actors’ activities to promote efficiency and accuracy. This partnership has been pivotal in empowering local farmers, particularly women and youth, to scale up their operations and integrate into commercial markets. AFD’s focus on enhancing agricultural infrastructure complements the World Bank’s financial instruments. Together they have facilitated a transformative approach to agriculture, demonstrating the sector’s investment potential and fostering robust public–private alliances.

“PDAC has become a very valuable public policy instrument,” says Anderson Jerónimo PDAC Director of Angola’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MINAGRIF). “We are seeing producers moving from activities of 3, 4 or 5 hectares to 50 or 100 hectares in no more than a year or two. And above all, we are managing to grant agricultural credit to producers who have been in this activity for 15–20 years and have never had credit granted. So, for this reason, we believe that it is an instrument that is still current and valid. And we would like to continue doing everything we can to increase the number of beneficiaries under this project.”