Our history

During this time he recognised the contribution an independent organisation could make in marshalling the private, academic, NGO and public sectors to work toward alleviating poverty and reducing disadvantage in the Asia Pacific region.

In its 30 years of operating, FDC has worked in various areas of international development and cooperation, primarily economic development, and has:

• Produced seminal research on the impact of government policy and regulation on enabling the growth of microenterprises as an essential opportunity for the poor including “Getting the Framework Right” and “The Role of Central Banks in Microfinance in Asia and the Pacific”.
• Seeded, incubated and managed multiple, region-wide initiatives to address specific development opportunities and challenges including the Energy for All Partnership which succeeded with its initial target to bring energy access to 100 million new people by 2015.
• Established cross-sector, regional partnerships for development cooperation, such as Banking with the Poor and Microfinance Pasifika Network which are networks of Asia-Pacific region-wide practitioners in the microfinance industry serving millions of people who are unbanked or underserved.
• Been part of the leadership team driving the financial inclusion agenda of the APEC Finance Ministers since 2010. In conjunction with the APEC Business Advisory Council, FDC and Asian Development Bank run programs within the Finance Ministers Process, culminating in annual policy recommendations provided to Finance Ministers, Central Bank Governors and their deputies addressing financial inclusion concerns and opportunities.
• Convened regional conferences, colloquiums and fora throughout the Pacific and Asia engaging stakeholders at all levels and sectors to explore solutions to development challenges and opportunities across a variety of themes including energy, regional cooperation, financing development, information and communication technology and financial inclusion.

Typically, FDC initiatives aim at a strategic and institutional level informed by grassroots and country-specific circumstances. More recently, FDC expanded its agenda to include inclusive growth and development in areas such as asset accumulation, economic and digital integration.