About MDB Watchdog

MDB Watchdog is an open-source platform committed to promoting transparency and accountability in global development finance. We monitor, visualize, and analyze multilateral development banks (MDBs) and other international development actors through interactive tools, curated datasets, and community-driven insights.

What We Do

MDB Watchdog tracks project investments, highlights risks, and flags issues related to governance, environmental, and social safeguards. Through maps, dashboards, and project-level summaries, users can explore financial flows, understand country-level debt, and identify noteworthy or controversial development efforts.

Interactive Sankey diagrams and summaries enable exploration of both long-term and short-term public debt, project sponsors, and MDB involvement over time.

Why It Matters

MDBs are central to financing development—yet their operations often remain opaque, fragmented, or inaccessible to the public. MDB Watchdog helps bridge this gap by offering a centralized, user-friendly way to track, interpret, and share data on how global development is financed and implemented.

Our Approach

MDB Watchdog is grounded in critical research, data transparency, and spatial intelligence. Our methodology combines:

Geographic Mapping
Visualizing MDB and infrastructure projects on interactive maps.
Debt Flow Analysis
Tracking government debt and financial instruments via Sankey diagrams.
Metadata Filtering
Allowing users to search and filter projects by country, sector, and type.
Project Flagging
Highlighting controversial, delayed, or high-risk projects with annotations.
Community Contributions
(Coming soon) Letting users share field updates and local insights.

We're continuously evolving—adding new MDBs, improving usability, and supporting accountability.

Get Involved

MDB Watchdog is a collaborative and open project. Whether you’re a developer, researcher, investigative journalist, or engaged citizen, we welcome your input.

Explore flagged projects, analyze debt flows, or reach out to contribute. Together, we can build a more transparent and equitable development ecosystem.