FIRST Donors and Partners

The Department for International Development (DFID) is the UK Government department responsible for promoting development and the reduction of poverty. Given the high costs of financial instability on the poor and the role of financial intermediation in promoting economic growth, DFID sees the development of efficient, stable and pro-poor financial systems in developing countries as essential to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The bulk of DFID's assistance is concentrated on the poorest countries in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, but DFID also contributes to poverty elimination and sustainable development in middle-income countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and elsewhere.

In the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the Directorate General for International Co-operation is responsible for development co-operation. The overall objective of Netherlands' development policy is to combat poverty in a sustainable manner. The Netherlands co-operates closely with a limited number of developing nations, multilateral development organizations and non-governmental and civil society organizations. The Netherlands' strategy paper, "In Business Against Poverty" envisages a strategy to foster sustainable pro-poor economic development, including support to the financial sector and for the development of financial services. The aim is to improve this crucial service to entrepreneurs and to control foreign debt, monitor the flight of capital abroad and combat corruption. Specifically, the Netherlands works both bilaterally and with its partners to strengthen supervision and regulation of the financial sector and to develop local financial institutions.

The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) supports sustainable development activities in order to reduce poverty and to contribute to a more secure, equitable and prosperous world. To achieve this, CIDA concentrates on promoting private sector development. Additionally, contributions are made to international financial institutions, such as the World Bank and regional development banks for Asia, Africa, the Americas and the Caribbean.

The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) is the center of competence for economic policy of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs in Switzerland. Founded in 1999, seco combines the Federal Offices for External and Internal Economic Affairs. The Directorate for Development and Transition (ET) is one of the eight pillars of seco. ET formulates medium-term strategic orientations concerning Switzerland's assistance to developing and transition countries. It promotes the sustainable economic development of partner countries and their integration into the world economy, by creating the necessary conditions for improving the general living standards in developing countries. ET regards dynamic and well-regulated financial systems as a priority to the strengthening of the macroeconomic framework of developing and transition countries.

The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) is the Swedish government agency for bilateral international development cooperation and most of Sweden's cooperation with Central and Eastern Europe. The overall goal of Swedish development cooperation is to raise the standard of living of the poor in the world. Sida's task is to create conditions conducive to change and to promote socially, economically and environmentally sustainable development by contributing resources and developing skills and competence in recipient countries.

The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) formulates the development policy of the Federal Republic of Germany. Four guiding principles of German development policy are economic efficiency, social justice, ecological sustainability and political stability. The BMZ selected 60 partner countries for bilateral cooperation on the basis of the overarching goals of German development policy--reducing poverty, securing peace and realizing democracy, achieving justice in globalization and protecting the environment. In regional terms, Africa is the main focus of German development cooperation. Almost half of all partner countries (24) are in sub-Saharan Africa. However, Germany continues to work with countries that are not on the list through its contributions to the development policy of the European Union and multilateral organizations.

The World Bank Group is one of the world's largest sources of development assistance. In fiscal year 2002, the institution provided more than US$19.5 billion in loans to its client countries. It works in more than 100 developing countries with the primary focus of helping the poorest. The Financial Sector Network of the World Bank Group helps countries strengthen their financial systems, develop their economies, and restructure and modernize financial institutions by providing financing, policy research and advice, financial products and instruments, and technical support.

The International Monetary Fund is an international organization of 184 member countries. It was established to promote international monetary co-operation, exchange stability,  economic growth and high levels of employment; and to provide temporary financial assistance to help ease balance of payments adjustment. Since the IMF was established, its purposes have remained unchanged but its operations, which include surveillance, financial assistance, and technical assistance, have evolved to meet the changing needs of its member countries and the world economy.

The Partnership for Making Finance Work for Africa (MFW4A) is an initiative to support the efforts of African countries to boost economic growth and fight poverty by encouraging and facilitating financial sector development.