The DBSA and Agence Française de Développement (AFD) recently entered into a financial agreement to promote financing opportunities to accelerate infrastructure as identified by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) over the next five years.

The first phase of this agreement has been fully committed and the two organisations will each provide Euros 2 200 000 for the financing of studies. In addition, the AFD will provide further technical assistance to obtain an expert in the energy field, financed through a grant of Euros 600 000.

The first agreement between DBSA and AFD goes back to 2003. To support the NEPAD initiative, they created and jointly funded the Project Preparation and Feasibility Study Fund (PPFS Fund), for the purpose of financing the pre-investment stages of regional integration infrastructure projects.

This second agreement regulates how the parties will work together regarding the disbursement of funds relating to the African development initiatives. The DBSA will continue to provide the management to execute the implementation of the development of these projects funded by the PPFS.

The NEPAD projects which will benefit from this alliance must meet certain criteria such as :
- having a regional or continental impact,
- having an acceptable environmental impact,
- falling into one of the four priority sectors (transport, energy, ICT, water and sanitation). On an exceptional basis, projects in other sectors can be approved,
- prioritizing the implementation of public-private partnerships,
- the size of financing by the fund shall not exceed US$ 500,000,

The PPFS Fund has played a catalyst role and mobilized other funds from relevant international finance institutions and donors in supporting project implementation. It facilitates the establishment of partnerships, provides funding for pre-project assessments and feasibility studies, with its secretariat and management based at the DBSA.