Groundwater and resource preservation
The partner interview
Stéphanie Lanfranchi Director of Mobilisation and National Partnerships at the French Development Agency
What is BRGM’s role in relation to the French Development Agency (AFD)?
Stéphanie Lanfranchi – AFD implements France’s international partnership policy by funding and speeding up development transitions in emerging and vulnerable countries and in France’s overseas territories that relate, for example, to climate risks and to reducing inequality, particularly between women and men. For this purpose, our group applies and showcases French expertise on the international stage, with a view to promoting practical and positive solutions available in our public sector ecosystem, which combine research, innovation, engineering and administrative, technical and financial expertise. In this context, BRGM is one of our main partners and the lead operator of the Technical Expertise and Experience-Sharing Fund (Fexte), which we have set up for the benefit of our partners.
What areas does your partnership cover?
S. L. – Our track record reflects the quality of the analyses and solutions we have provided to various local stakeholders under numerous projects, for example, in Jordan, Kazakhstan, South Africa and Ethiopia on water resource management, particularly groundwater; in Mauritius and Rodrigues on coastal risk prevention; in Mexico on the lithium potential of geothermal waters; and in Indonesia on the rehabilitation of former mining areas. Our collaboration with BRGM, whose Île-de-France regional office has been based at our premises since 2025, is going from strength to strength. In 2026, our partnership will develop into a strategic agreement covering all of the AFD Group’s subsidiaries.
How does BRGM contribute to your work?
S. L. – Together with BRGM, we work in the public interest and share the same commitment to partnership-based collaboration and long-term engagement. Moreover, the internationally recognised expertise and reputation of BRGM are real assets: they give our partners a high level of confidence, high-quality studies and practical results that meet their needs. In addition, our joint international efforts contribute to our expertise and strengthen our capacity to operate in France, particularly in the overseas territories. The partnership between the AFD Group and BRGM generates useful and practical solutions and outcomes at an international level, which can be replicated in France.
