Agence Française de Développement
2026-09-02afd.fr
Overview
What they do
Founded in 1941, Agence Française de Développement (AFD) is the principal executor of France's bilateral official development assistance. Operating in over 160 countries, it provides concessional loans, grants, and technical assistance to support sustainable development. For the private sector and startup ecosystem, AFD operates through its subsidiary Proparco and initiatives like Digital Africa, deploying venture capital to emerging markets, particularly in Africa and recently Ukraine. It is highly distinctive for being the first development bank fully aligned with the Paris Agreement and for its massive scale, committing over €13 billion annually.
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What they look for
AFD Group's overarching thesis is to finance projects that address poverty, climate change, and inequality, guided by the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For startup and VC investments (executed via Proparco and Digital Africa), the thesis is to support innovative entrepreneurship that provides access to essential goods and services, creates jobs, and drives digital and ecological transitions in emerging markets.
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Stage
Pre-seed, Seed, Series A, Series B+
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Sectors
Climate, Fintech, Food and agriculture, Healthcare, Edtech, SaaS, Deeptech
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Based
Paris, FR
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Sources
2026-09-02afd.frAFD plays a pivotal role because it’s both a bank that finances projects and an agency that…
2026-09-02afd.frIn doing so, we contribute to France’s policy on sustainable investment and international…
2026-09-02afd.frThis fairly recent concept of integral inclusion is already being put into practice through…
2026-09-02afd.frThe AdaptAction program finances technical assistance and capacity building activities in…
Portfolio, cheque size and the rest
The 2 companies they have backed that we can see, the cheque they write, and whether they are deploying right now.
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