Donors

From its inception, the Foreign Investment Advisory Service (FIAS) has been established as an advisory facility with support from donor countries. The intention is, to provide objective advice on the investment environment of developing countries, in addition to the mainstream work of the World Bank Group and reflective of donor strategies and priorities.

Donors have been providing support to the FIAS program since 1987. Seventeen donor countries have participated, including Australia,Canada, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In addition, FIAS received substantial grants for specific purposes from U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the past.

FIAS donors typically commit to funding over a three-year period. As a general principle, all funds are untied and in support of the global activities of FIAS. Donor funds typically cover about 30 to 35 percent of the operational costs of FIAS, with the remainder of the resources coming from the IFC and the World Bank as well as reimbursements from clients. All these resources form the FIAS Trust Fund that supports FIAS advisory activities.

The donors to FIAS form a Consultative Committee which discusses FIAS’ performance and assists in shaping the future strategy of the FIAS Program at each year’s annual meeting. FIAS formally reports on its financial and advisory performance in the form of an annual report for each fiscal year, submitted to donors prior to the annual meeting.

For more information about the FIAS Trust Fund and donor relations, please contact Nigel Twose or Thomas Davenport.