Since 2017, all the beneficiary countries of official development assistance (as defined by the OECD DAC) in which AFD is authorized to operate are eligible for FEXTE, whatever the level of their per-capita gross national income.
The technical cooperation program must meet three criteria:
The mechanism can be used to fund several types of operations:
• Project-preparation studies: planning, pre-feasibility, feasibility, preliminary or detailed design;
• Technical cooperation: resident technical assistance, short-term or repeat expertise, high-level training actions, strategic partnerships between peer institutions.
Technical cooperation: the municipal services of a French city provide support for another city in implementing an urban mobility project. This sharing of experience can cover all dimensions of the project: normative aspects, forms of service management, etc.
Technical assistance: to finance large-scale investments in renewable energies, an electricity provider draws inspiration from French mechanisms.
Technical cooperation program: FEXTE provides support for sectoral financing or for an investment plan for which French know-how can be used.
Project-preparation study: mobilization of French experience in conducting studies on hydroelectric dam security (geotechnical and seismic risks, consequences for local populations), prior to the setting up of a rehabilitation project for these infrastructures.
AFD allocates different types of loans. Their terms are determined by the nature of the project and its environment (political, economic, social, environmental impact and context) and the quality of the borrower (sector of activity, rating, guarantees).
AFD uses grants to finance actions in the social sector (health, education), rural and urban development initiatives, and infrastructure projects.
The Debt Reduction-Development Contract (C2D) is a tool to restructure the debt of certain countries. In practical terms, once a Heavily Indebted Poor Country has signed a C2D with AFD, the country continues to service its debt until repayment. At each payment on the due date, AFD transfers the equivalent amount to the country in the form of a grant. This amount is used to finance poverty reduction programs.
The direct financial cooperation between AFD and CSOs today covers a wide range of instruments tailored to the specific characteristics of CSOs and their added value: support for innovation (Sectoral Innovation Facility for NGOs, financing from the French Facility for Global Environment, FFEM), financing for operations in fragile, crisis and post-crisis contexts (APCC), and support for their initiatives, via the CSO Initiatives mechanism.
The guarantees allocated by AFD facilitate financing for small businesses and microfinance institutions in developing countries. They also help French SMEs set up abroad. This means that they are an effective tool for promoting investment and job creation.
Following the Paris Climate Agreement, AFD has launched Adapt’Action to support countries seeking technical assistance for the institutional, methodological and operational implementation of their commitments to the fight against climate change.
