Fair Finance Southern Africa is a civil society coalition working towards ensuring Development Finance Institutions invest in a socially and environmentally responsible manner in South Africa and Africa. The coalition focuses on issues of climate change and transparency.

South African Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and DFIs operating in South Africa include the African Development Bank (AfDB), Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), Export Credit Insurance Corporation (ECIC), Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), and New Development Bank (NDB).

These DFIs have broad mandates to fund development projects, however the way they make funding decisions is not transparent, and their policies and procedures trail many of those of their international peers, as highlighted by this study by Fair Finance member the Centre for Environmental Rights in 2020. Africa is one of the most unequal continents in the world, and as such, the role of DFIs is incredibly important to bring about true development.

DFIs have traditionally operated without much oversight, whether from parliament or civil society. A number of civil society organisations have sought to change that recently, and the Fair Finance Coalition brings many of these organisations together to improve transparency and accountability of these institutions and importantly their financing practices.