Top 10 aid donors to watch in 2022

ByIon Ilasco

Top 10 aid donors to watch in 2022

The international development sector is comprised of a myriad of stakeholders cooperating to eliminate global poverty and injustice and achieve a state of general well-being. Development agencies, intergovernmental organizations, and the private sector are just a few examples of such stakeholders. In this article, DevelopmentAid has compiled a list of the top donor organizations (providers and enablers) based on the number of open and upcoming funding opportunities in terms of tenders and grants, aggregated on the developmentaid.org platform.

Who are the aid donors?

International development represents a broad concept that refers to the efforts to eliminate global poverty and injustice and achieve a state of general well-being. In this context, the international development sector incorporates the operational boundaries of the global economy where various stakeholders participate, collaborate, and share resources to achieve these goals. The development agencies (e.g., USAID, SIDA), multilateral development banks (e.g., World Bank, Asian Development Bank), and intergovernmental organizations (e.g., UN, WHO) are commonly known as donors.

Fig.1. Example of stakeholders operating in the development sector

International donors use various channels and instruments to deliver aid to developing countries and people in need and this is when public procurement (public tendering) and grant-awarding procedures play a key role. Within this frame of reference, public procurement refers to the provision of services, the execution of work, or the supply of goods against a price obtained through a competitive process, while grants are financial contributions in the form of donations to enable one or more beneficiaries to carry out an action or to implement a work program.

Top 10 aid donors to watch in 2022

DevelopmentAid is the leading provider of business intelligence and recruitment tools in the development sector. Currently, the platform serves as a one-stop-shop for donors, consulting organizations, individual experts, and recruiters by assisting them through all the stages of the public procurement cycle.

For this exercise, the information on upcoming funding opportunities was filtered for all donor organizations covered by DevelopmentAid. The results displayed below reflect the organizations with the highest number of funding opportunities in the country programming, formulation, approval, forecast, and open stage as of 31 January 2022.

World Bank (WB) – has the highest number of current and upcoming funding opportunities with 14,174 tenders and 23 grants with a geographic distribution of Africa – 5,818, Asia – 5,141, Europe – 1,026, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) – 1,671, North America – 21 and Oceania – 23. WB is the donor with most tenders in Africa and in Asia.

Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) – at the time of analysis, IADB had 5,263 funding opportunities out of which 5,258 were tenders and only 5 were grants. The geographical distribution was Africa – 3, Asia – 11, Europe – 2, LAC – 5,245, North America – 94, and Oceania – 1. IADB is the donor with most tenders in Latin America and the Caribbean.

European Investment Bank (EIB) – has 5,045 open and upcoming projects, comprised of 5,040 tenders and 5 grants with the geographical distribution being: Africa – 553, Asia – 322, Europe – 4,131, LAC – 170, North America – 10 and Oceania – 49. EIB is the donor with most tenders in Europe.

European Commission (EC) – is the biggest provider of grants within the timeframe analyzed with 1,001 opportunities and the fourth-largest regarding tenders with 3,793. The geographical distribution of the projects is Africa – 1,180, Asia – 940, Europe – 1,620, LAC – 351, North America – 28, and Oceania – 146.

Asian Development Bank (ADB) – at the time of analysis, ADB had 3,284 projects, out of which 3,282 were tenders and only 2 were grants with the geographical distribution being Africa – 3, Asia – 2,942, Europe – 1, LAC – 1, North America – 1 and Oceania – 440. ADB is the donor with most tenders in Oceania.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) – shows 2,980 open and upcoming projects, comprised of 2,978 tenders and 2 grants. The geographical distribution is Africa – 288, Asia – 844, Europe – 1,939, LAC – 2, North America – 0, and Oceania – 0.

African Development Bank (AfDB) – presents 2,920 funding opportunities, out of which 2,896 are tenders and 4 grants with the geographical distribution being Africa – 2,912, Asia – 4, Europe – 1, LAC – 0, North America – 0, and Oceania – 0.

Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KFW) – this German development institution has 1,596 open and upcoming projects, comprised of 1,589 tenders and 7 grants with the geographical distribution being Africa – 769, Asia – 543, Europe – 155, LAC – 158, North America – 1 and Oceania – 3.

United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the second largest provider of grants with 872 current and upcoming opportunities. In terms of tenders, USAID reports that 1,312 projects are currently in the pipeline. The geographical distribution of the projects is Africa – 772, Asia – 656 Europe – 146, LAC – 262, North America – 247, and Oceania – 14. USAID is the donor with most tenders in North America.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) despite the cuts, FCDO still makes the top 10 donors to watch in 2022 with 750 funding opportunities of which 725 are tenders and 25 are grants with the geographical distribution being Africa – 389, Asia – 234, Europe – 95, LAC – 37, North America – 8 and Oceania – 18.

* Note: The number of tenders and grants changes on a daily basis. The information in this article is intended to provide an indicative overview.

Fig.2.Total funding opportunities (tenders and grants):

As can be seen from the data in this analysis, the international donor-funded market is active and vibrant showing a wide array of open and upcoming tenders and grants. The WB, IDB, and EIB have the richest pipeline in terms of funding opportunities while Africa, Asia, and Europe are the regions with the highest developmental focus.

DevelopmentAid is the leading provider of business intelligence and recruitment tools designed to assist those active in the development sector. Join today and gain access to exclusive information on upcoming funding opportunities (tenders and grants) from the largest international donors.