## Mid-Year Report to the D4D Fund Steering Committee (May – December 2025)

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Mid-Year Report to the D4D Fund Steering Committee (May – December 2025)](https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/capacity-developement/d4d/january-2026/d4d-midyear-report-january-2026.pdf)

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### Implementation status and work plan progress
- Implementation of the first Steering Committee-endorsed 18-month work plan for the D4D Fund’s second phase (May 2025–October 2026) is progressing as anticipated.
- Eight months into Phase II, activities are advancing across nearly all major areas with mission delivery moving forward on schedule.
- Budget execution remains broadly in line with projections.
- Collaboration with the IMF’s regional capacity development centers (RCDCs) continues to enhance consistency, coverage and coordination across capacity development activities.
- Adjustments to country work plans (largely in the timing of missions) were made where necessary to reflect shifts in country demand and capacity constraints, while remaining aligned with SC-approved objectives.

### Program execution and activity delivery
- During May–December 2025, 52 of 165 technical assistance and training missions (including workshops) planned for the first 18 months were completed.
- Activities to be implemented in FY 2026: 100.
- Activities implemented (May - December 2025): 52.
- The bulk of activities have been implemented primarily through Module I, focusing on strengthening data needs and improving data quality.
- Africa and the Middle East remain principal focal regions for tailored support and strategic importance.

### Capacity development highlights (country and regional)
- Country-level support examples:
  - Yemen: strengthening external sector statistics.
  - Mozambique: updating national accounts.
  - Egypt: improving consumer price indexes.
  - Angola: revised GFS series aligned with the 2014 methodological framework was publicly disseminated.
  - El Salvador: support to address emerging digital economy data needs.
  - Uzbekistan and Kenya: development of residential property price indexes (RPPIs).
  - Sierra Leone: enhancements to GFS.
  - Lebanon: balance of payments statistics aligned with international standards.
- Regional activities:
  - Workshops on RPPIs and the application of big data in official statistics to strengthen methodological capacity across multiple countries.
  - Training on Big Data for Macroeconomic Statistics at ATI in May 2025 with over 30 participants; topics included GDP and trade nowcasting, high-frequency indicators using satellite imagery and AIS data, and non-traditional data sources to complement official statistics.

### The Financial Access Survey (FAS)
- The 2024 FAS results were released in October 2025 through a press release and the annual report “Financial Access Survey: Fintech, a Catalyst for Financial Services Access, Innovation and Growth.”
- The FAS now includes data from 192 economies.
- Two additional economies provided gender-disaggregated data in the latest round, bringing the total number of reporters for gender series to 91.
- Mobile money reporters increased from 83 to 86.
- Table 3 reporters by region and selected series as of October 2025:
  - Total reporters: Advanced Economies 39; Emerging and Developing Asia 29; Emerging and Developing Europe 15; Latin America and the Caribbean 33; Middle East and Central Asia 30; Sub-Saharan Africa 44; Total 192.
  - Gender data reporters: Advanced Economies 11; Emerging and Developing Asia 14; Emerging and Developing Europe 7; Latin America and the Caribbean 15; Middle East and Central Asia 12; Sub-Saharan Africa 32; Total 91.
  - Mobile money reporters: Advanced Economies 0; Emerging and Developing Asia 15; Emerging and Developing Europe 4; Latin America and the Caribbean 13; Middle East and Central Asia 13; Sub-Saharan Africa 41; Total 86.
- The second FAS Pilot exercise tested survey methodology and questionnaire design across 324 variables.
  - Participation: 95 participating economies reported an average of 51 variables.
  - Top-reporting economies included Albania, Bangladesh, Colombia, and Kosovo.
  - Consumer protection and MSME variables saw particularly broad uptake.
- The 2025 FAS Annual Report highlighted rapid post-pandemic growth:
  - Mobile money transactions in Sub-Saharan Africa tripled over five years.
  - Digital transactions in emerging markets nearly quintupled per adult between 2017 and 2024.
- Partnerships and outreach:
  - STA participated in the IAMTN Summit (October 2025) and the BIS-UNSGSA Workshop (November 2025).
  - STA is developing a measurement framework for Financial Health with feedback gathered via the FAS Advisory Group meeting, BIS-UNSGSA Workshop, and bilateral consultations with CGAP.
  - The fourth FAS Advisory Group Meeting was held on November 18, 2025.
- Forward plans:
  - Work continues on data collection for DGI-3 Recommendation 12 on fintech-enabled financial inclusion in coordination with G20 countries.
  - Planned capacity building: two in-person regional workshops and one virtual multi-regional workshop in 2026.

### Enhancing the online learning curriculum and language coverage
- Phase I completed rollout of the 12-course online learning curriculum in English, French, and Spanish.
- Phase II focuses on updating course content and expanding translations into additional languages.
- ICD updates:
  - BOP-IIPx: all nine modules expected to be ready for STA’s review by end-January 2026 to align with BPM7.
  - EDSx: STA reviewing materials; ICD finalizing participant feedback to inform updates.
  - Video production strategy under discussion, including potential shift to featuring IMF experts on camera.
- Arabic translations:
  - FSIx initial translation expected to take approximately two months; technical review to follow in February 2026 with in-parallel production of videos and graphics.
  - MFSx Arabic translation about 50 percent complete; technical review ongoing and voice-overs in progress.
- As of December 2025:
  - Close to 19,700 participants have benefited from 139 offerings of D4D-funded online courses (FY21-26).
  - More than half of participants come from low and lower middle-income countries.
  - Almost a third of participants come from Africa.
  - A sixth of participants come from fragile and conflict affected states.

### Targeted investments in data transparency and SDMX migration
- Activities under the data standards submodule will increase once the Japan-funded bilateral project concludes in June 2026.
- A second submodule will deepen country support for SDMX migration and implementation.
- Two workshops in collaboration with AfDB targeted updated technologies to modernize data dissemination:
  - Enhancing Data Dissemination Training hosted by UNECA in July 2025 focused on SDMX 1.0 data modeling in preparation for migration to Open Data Platform (ODP) 2.0 to improve interoperability and make official data AI-ready.
  - SDMX Open Data Platform Training at ATI in December 2025 brought participants from Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zimbabwe to strengthen country capacity for improved data dissemination practices and identify next-phase technical assistance needs related to SDMX-compliant data modeling and ODP 2.0 implementation.

### Module 5: Strengthening disaster risk and climate-related statistics (Asia–Pacific)
- The first D4D Module 5 activity—a Regional Workshop on Measuring Disaster Risks and Impacts—was held in Korea in October 2025 with 27 participants from 14 countries across Asia and the Pacific.
- Workshop focus:
  - Strengthening capacity to compile and use Environment and Climate Change Statistics (ECCS).
  - Equipping participants to improve disaster-related statistics and apply them in national decision-making.
- Key data challenges identified:
  - Limited granularity of hazards data.
  - Insufficient information on spatially explicit asset exposure.
  - Absence of centralized data management systems.
  - Weak inter-agency coordination.
- Outcomes:
  - Workshop improved participants’ ability to diagnose climate data gaps and link ECCS to policy priorities.
  - Some countries expressed interest in follow-up support.
  - Average participant rating: 4.9/5.
- Follow-up missions:
  - A demand-driven RSF-program-related climate data diagnostic mission to The Gambia is scheduled for February 18-24, 2026 to assess climate-relevant data landscape and develop a roadmap to improve data availability, quality, and integration.

### Integrating D4D-funded capacity development with IMF-supported reforms (eligibility proposal)
- Proposal for endorsement:
  - To enable non-LLMICs under an RSF program to access the D4D Fund’s climate module, an additional country-eligibility criterion is proposed to direct resources where demand for high-quality, climate policy-relevant data is most acute.
- RSF country context:
  - Of the 26 RSF countries, 18 are classified as LLMICs and already eligible for support through the D4D Fund.
  - It is proposed the SC consider, on an exceptional basis, extending eligibility to any of the remaining seven RSF countries: Barbados, Cabo Verde, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Moldova, Paraguay, and Seychelles.
  - Of these seven, four—Barbados, Cabo Verde, Jamaica and Seychelles—are classified as small island developing states (SIDS).
- Pilot design:
  - Proposed criteria to be applied on a pilot basis effective from February 2026 through the end of the second 18-month work program.
  - Pilot intended to assess impact and feasibility of upscaling to other Fund programs and/or D4D modules.
- Rationale:
  - Targeting D4D support to these countries would reinforce data foundations needed for effective surveillance, program design, and risk assessment, and would strengthen integration of capacity development with the Fund’s core operations.

### Continuous Engagement (CE) to sustain reform momentum
- The former “Limited Engagement” model has been strengthened and redefined as “Continuous Engagement” to support more sustainable capacity development outcomes.
- CE purpose:
  - Provide structured, light-touch support between in-country TA missions to help counterparts address implementation challenges, sustain reform momentum, and reduce the risk of stalled progress.
- Examples of CE in practice:
  - Price statistics compilation support via remote limited engagement after in-country missions for Sri Lanka and Indonesia—review and editing of data collection questionnaires, index weighting structures, and index calculation sheets.
  - Remote support to the Philippines during data collection visits with important business respondents at authorities’ request.
- CE is explicitly linked to each country’s workstream objectives and the D4D-II Strategic Logframe to reinforce institutional learning and measurable, durable improvements in statistical capacity.

### Fundraising status
- Overall budget envelope for D4D Fund Phase II (D4D-II): $45 million.
- As of end-November 2025, $20.2 million from partners has been secured in signed agreements, representing 45 percent of the Phase II envelope.
  - Partner contributors listed: China, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway (NORAD’s Department for Climate, Nature, and the Private Sector), Saudi Arabia and Switzerland (SECO).
- Financing gap remaining: $24.8 million.
- Next steps: focus on securing more financing from existing partners and engaging new partners.

### Looking ahead: Annual Steering Committee meeting
- The annual SC meeting is expected to take place in June 2026 in-person.
- The meeting will include a discussion on program implementation during the first full year of implementation of the D4D Fund’s second phase.

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/capacity-developement/d4d/january-2026/d4d-midyear-report-january-2026.pdf_