OPEC Fund for International Development

Summary: 

Organizational profile: The OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund) is a multilateral development finance institution dedicated to delivering socio-economic impact to low- and middle-income countries. Founded in 1976 by the member states of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the OPEC Fund is a separate institution with a distinct mandate,  focused purely on international development. The OPEC Fund is the only globally mandated development institution that provides financing from member countries to non-member countries. All developing countries, with the exception of its own members, are eligible for assistance.

Financing Instrument: Loans, Grants

Project scale: Recent forest related projects have ranged from US$420,000 to US$20,000,000.

Recipient countries regions/country groups: Global

Recipient categories: Governments

Eligibility Criteria: In line with the Agreement establishing the OPEC Fund, developing countries other than OPEC Member Countries are eligible for OPEC Fund’s grant assistance, with special consideration to the needs of LDCs. All grant applications should meet the following general principles: (i) the requested grant should support initiatives and activities that present a clear and measurable development impact; (ii) the objectives of the proposed grant activities and projects/programs should be clearly aligned with the OPEC Fund’s strategic goals and priorities. Therefore, for country-specific grants, the OPEC Fund will prioritize project proposals and activities that are clearly linked to, could complement or support its existing operations in the country concerned; and (iii) the proposed interventions and activities should be delivered in a cost effective manner. Eligible partners are any government or non-government body, including co-financing partners, private sector entities, research institutes, UN agencies and international NGOs. With the exception of emergency aid and small grants in amounts of up to US$100,000, OPEC Fund’s contribution to a stand-alone project should not exceed 50 percent of the total cost of the said project.

Application guidelines: The OPEC Fund works closely with its partner countries and has co-developed multi-years financing programs that respond pro-actively to the priorities identified by the countries themselves. The OPEC Fund also evaluates projects and programs based on commercial, technical and financial viability, as well as by doing social and environmental due diligence. 

In order to facilitate the screening of grant applications against eligibility criteria, applicants are required to submit project proposals using the OPEC Fund Grant Application Form along with supporting documents listed in Annex of the Guidelines for Grant Applications document; found at https://opecfund.org/what-we-offer/grants/grant-application.
 

Publication Date
Friday, 02 April 2021
Applicable location
Africa
Americas
Asia
Europe
Oceania
Topic/Theme
Forest conservation and management
Database
Financing opportunities