Abstract At a time when the Commonwealth of Nations and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) are investigating their long-term relevance and identity in the face of current international challenges, relatively little attention has been paid to the small yet growing number of countries that are now joint members of the two organisations. This group has increased in recent years and 11 countries now have a link with both organisations. As programmes are being implemented in the same polities and as the reflection on global governance progresses, there is a growing need for more comparative studies of Francophonie and Commonwealth commitments that take into account the institutional history of these organisations. In this context, this article investigates the challenges and opportunities created by Commonwealth–OIF programmes in the fields of democracy, human rights and development, in their drive for good governance and new forms of multilateralism.