ACTED was initially established in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1993, distributing coal and flour to bakeries to cope with bread shortages. Activities quickly expanded around the country and then to wider Central Asia. From here, ACTED's work spread to Africa, Central America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. In 2017, ACTED became the highest ranked new entry in the NGO Advisor Top 500 NGOs, at #33, and was marked "one of six organisations to watch". ACTED has its head office in Paris and network offices in Geneva, London, Ottawa and Washington, D.C..