In South Africa, Mr. Yohannes is attending events and meetings around the 2013 World Economic Forum on Africa (WEF). The Forum provides an opportunity for global leaders in development, the private sector and government to work toward advancing African growth and integration. Mr. Yohannes will participate in panel discussions on how MCC’s investments in energy and transportation are contributing to sustainable growth on the continent.

Alongside the WEF meetings, Mr. Yohannes will meet with government and private sector officials, including representatives from Coca-Cola to discuss the ongoing partnership between Coca-Cola and MCC.

Mr. Yohannes will then travel to Lesotho from May 12-15 to mark the upcoming completion of MCC’s nearly $363 million compact, which invested in health, water and private sector development.

Activities will include the commissioning of a new health center in Peka, Lesotho on May 13. The center is one of 138 health centers renovated and expanded under MCC’s compact with Lesotho, increasing the quality and access of general health care, HIV/AIDS treatment, and baby delivery.

On May 14, Mr. Yohannes will also travel to the Metolong Dam and a rural water site, both of which are helping to provide a larger, more reliable supply of water to residents and businesses throughout Lesotho.

Mr. Yohannes will participate in a panel discussion on May 15 of Basotho private sector leaders, which will offer an opportunity to discuss the accomplishments of MCC’s private sector project in Lesotho as well as follow-on investments to MCC’s work. While in Lesotho, Mr. Yohannes will also meet with Prime Minister Tom Thabane.

For further information, please contact Erin Callahan at callahanme@mcc.gov.

###

The Forum, held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, provided an opportunity for some of international development’s top leaders and practitioners to meet and exchange ideas. MCC also presented three awards to individuals and organizations using the power of partnerships to make an impact in the lives of the world’s poor.

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice provided the event’s keynote address and discussed foreign assistance during a conversation with master of ceremonies Frank Sesno. Michael Froman, assistant to President Barack Obama and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs, addressed the role of the private sector in international development. And Senator Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Appropriations Subcommittee on State Department and Foreign Operations, spoke about the need for sustained funding for foreign aid.

Rice, who served as Secretary of State and chair of MCC’s Board of Directors from 2005 to 2009, emphasized that U.S. Government foreign assistance “has lifted people up from all over the world for many, many decades.”

Rice acknowledged a pressure to cut foreign assistance funding and focus spending at home but believes the U.S. Government’s spending on foreign aid—which is less than 1 percent of the federal budget—is money well spent.

“I would say to the American people, yes, we need to deal with our problems here at home. But just look at what's going on around the world. Just look at all the preventable disease. Just look at all of the children who could be saved. You'll want to have American foreign assistance be a part of that story.”

During Rice’s tenure as chair of MCC’s Board, the agency signed 16 compacts worth more than $6.3 billion and 20 Threshold Programs totaling almost $439 million. She called MCC “A story of shared success.”

“I've always thought that American foreign policy—indeed, America—is at its best in the world when our interests and our values come together. And I can think of no better example of our interests and our values coming together than MCC.”

Froman—who is responsible for coordinating policy on international trade, financial, energy security, climate change, development, and democracy issues—discussed the changing role of the U.S. Government in foreign assistance.

“From the planning of development programs, to their coordination with other donors, to their implementation, and through the data-driven evaluation of their effectiveness, we recognize we have to do more with less,” he said. “But we also recognize we have to do better from beginning to end.”

Froman called MCC “a critical input to the administration's development policy since the first days of the administration.”

“MCC's experience has been enormously helpful as we've worked to make our assistance more effective, including by leveraging public sector reform and private sector capital flows,” he said. “And one of the lessons of the MCC is the power of example and the importance of incentives.”

Leahy, who is the most senior member of the Appropriations and Agriculture committees, noted that, “What we have to do is focus on what we get for the money—not just spending more money, but what do we get for it. … I commend MCC for working on that. We have to make sure we're getting the direct feedback from the intended beneficiaries.”

“I have to fight every year in the Senate and the Congress to get money for foreign aid,” he said. “It's not the most popular thing to ask for, although it's one of the most important things in a great country like ours, and I'll keep fighting for it.”

To watch a video of the Forum, click here.

###

The Forum, held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington today, provided an opportunity for some of international development’s top leaders and practitioners to meet and exchange ideas. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice provided the keynote address, and Deputy National Security Advisor Michael Froman and Senator Patrick Leahy each delivered remarks.

At the event, the Millennium Challenge Corporation presented three awards:

• MCC’s Corporate Award was presented to Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR) for its commitment to partnering with local nongovernmental organizations for sustainable community development.
• MCC’s Country Commitment Award was presented to Sophia Mohapi, the CEO of Millennium Challenge Account-Lesotho, for facilitating large-scale partnerships to promote economic growth in Lesotho.
• MCC’s Next Generation Award—presented in partnership with the United Nations Foundation—was presented to Jessica O. Matthews and Julia Silverman, the co-founders of Uncharted Play, for advancing youth leadership and innovation in international development.

“Today’s Forum is a celebration of the power of partnerships to achieve sustainable development,” MCC CEO Daniel W. Yohannes said at the event. “Mutual accountability and shared responsibility at the heart of genuine partnerships deliver results for the world’s poor.  The recipients of MCC’s Country Commitment Award, Corporate Award and Next Generation Award demonstrate what is possible when we partner.”

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. is a leader in specialty coffee and coffee makers. The company, based in Waterbury, Vt., is known for its award-winning coffees, innovative brewing technology and socially responsible business practices. GMCR supports local and global communities, investing in sustainably grown coffee and allocating a portion of its pre-tax profits to socially and environmentally responsible initiatives. 

The company’s projects have focused on diversifying the incomes of coffee farmers, helping to advance food security in the communities where it works. Further, GMCR advances social and environmental initiatives while placing a strong emphasis on monitoring and evaluation. The company partners with local suppliers and with organizations like Save the Children, Catholic Relief Services, Heifer International, and the Jane Goodall Foundation.

Sophia Mohapi is CEO of Millennium Challenge Account-Lesotho, which is implementing MCC’s five-year, $363 million compact with the Government of Lesotho. The compact aims to increase the availability of water for households and industrial use, test watershed management and conservation methods, rehabilitate health infrastructure and strengthen health systems, and remove barriers to foreign and local private sector investment. It also played a key role in the Government of Lesotho reforming its laws to give women equal rights, and one of the compact’s programs helps educate the people of Lesotho about the new rights being afforded to women.

Mohapi helped facilitate the Government of Lesotho’s commitment to contribute approximately $100 million for unanticipated costs related to the compact, as well as an additional $52.7 million for project completion occurring beyond the compact end date.

Jessica O. Matthews and Julia Silverman are the co-founders of Uncharted Play, a social enterprise that aims to address real-world issues with products, services and events that are grounded in the fun of life. By amplifying existing play behavior, Uncharted Play invites the world to rethink the function of play as both a tool for change and a way to keep joy at the forefront of our lives.

Uncharted Play’s flagship product, the SOCCKET, is a soccer ball that generates electricity through play. Just 30 minutes of play can power the accompanying LED light for three hours.

Jessica Matthews is co-founder and chief executive officer of Uncharted Play. She has more than seven years of start-up and small business experience in the software and technology industry, as well as international business experience with sound relationships in Nigeria, Angola and Italy. President Barack Obama invited Matthews to the White House to represent small companies at the signing of the America Invents Act.

Julia Silverman is co-founder and chief social officer of Uncharted Play. Her work has received global recognition including awards from the Harvard Foundation, TED, the Women in the World Foundation, and McKinsey Consulting. She has lived and worked all over Africa with notable field initiatives in Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa.

MCC’s open evaluation data catalog—which can be found at data.mcc.gov— contains metadata and will eventually contain microdata from its rigorous independent evaluations (after the data is made anonymous to protect individual privacy).

The G-8 International Conference on Open Data for Agriculture will host leaders from around the world and will demonstrate the role of open data in increasing agricultural production, improving private sector growth and advancing global food security. It intends to promote policies and invest in projects that make public relevant data, make that data readily accessible to users worldwide and ultimately support sustainable increases in food security.

On April 29, MCC will post the first installment of metadata from food security programs in Armenia, El Salvador, Ghana, and the Philippines. This will include all relevant reports and descriptive statistics for surveys including an estimated 5,000 households in Armenia, 9,300 households in Ghana, 1,700 individuals in El Salvador, and 2,400 households in the Philippines.

MCC’s open data catalog is part of its Open Government Plan, which is based on a set of core principles for effective development assistance: good governance, country ownership, focus on results, and transparency. In addition to the household survey data, MCC provides open access in machine-readable format to country selection data, MCC quarterly financial data, key performance indicators, and economic rates of return analyses.

Since its founding in 2004, MCC has invested more than $4.3 billion to address food insecurity and strengthen agricultural and rural economies with the aim of reducing poverty through stimulating economic growth.

While the datasets in MCC’s catalog were collected to rigorously evaluate the impact of its investments, much of the information should also be useful to private sector, civil society, governments, and others who aim to support economic growth in developing countries, which are largely data-poor environments.

Jolyne Sanjak, MCC’s Deputy Vice President for Technical Services in Compact Operations, will join the U.S. delegation to the conference, which is being led by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Alicia Phillips Mandaville, MCC’s Managing Director for Development Policy, will participate in a panel discussion about open data on April 29.

Sanjak and Mandaville will be available for interviews at the conference. Media interested can register here or follow the conference on Twitter using the hashtag #OpenAgData. 

###

President Obama has requested $898.2 million for MCC to continue fighting global poverty through economic growth. The budget request for fiscal year 2014 is expected to support new compacts with Liberia, Morocco, Niger, Sierra Leone, and/or Tanzania, as well as Threshold Programs with Guatemala and Nepal.

“These five countries, together home to over 100 million people, are some of the world’s poorest, but each has taken concrete steps to improve governance and become eligible for MCC assistance,” Yohannes told the committee. “Together, they represent an extraordinary opportunity to reduce poverty and advance the interests of the United States.”

Yohannes also discussed MCC’s focus on fighting poverty through economic growth in countries that have demonstrated a commitment to ruling justly, investing in their citizens, and economic freedom.

Yohannes added that, through their efforts to quality for MCC assistance by engaging in good governance and enacting reforms, the five countries are examples of the “MCC Effect.” MCC’s selection criteria provide incentives for countries to adopt sound policies and strengthen democratic institutions in order to become eligible for MCC assistance.

Since its creation in 2004, MCC has signed 26 compacts totaling more than $9.6 billion, and these investments are projected to benefit nearly 174 million people worldwide.

“MCC programs are creating opportunities in poor communities around the world,” Yohannes said. “Transportation networks are stimulating trade and commerce with regional impact. Projects in land security, food security, energy security, and water security are helping connect the poor to economic growth and opportunity. MCC-inspired reforms are empowering women, strengthening property rights, advancing civil rights, and promoting democratic principles. And American businesses are seeing new opportunities to invest and profit.”

Read Yohannes’ testimony for the record here.

The budget request for fiscal year 2014 is expected to support funding for new compacts from among Liberia, Morocco, Niger, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania, as well as Threshold Programs with Guatemala and Nepal. Even if this request is met, however, there will be more countries than available budgetary resources to fund compacts with all of these countries in fiscal year 2014.

MCC’s fiscal year 2014 Congressional Budget Justification can be found here.

“In today’s constrained budget environment, MCC is committed to putting our partner countries on a path to self-sufficiency not just because it's the right thing to do, but also because it will strengthen our own economy and enhance our national security,” MCC CEO Daniel W. Yohannes said. “The President’s budget request will allow us to continue focusing on fighting poverty, promoting American values and enhancing transparency and accountability to ensure that we receive sound returns on our investments.”

Since its founding in 2004, MCC has signed 26 development assistance compacts and 21 Threshold Programs, committing almost $9.3 billion to fighting poverty around the world and supporting sustainable economic growth through country-led solutions with a focus on results and accountability.

Guided by a commitment to good governance, country ownership, transparency, and results, MCC continues to prudently manage budget resources to ensure the best possible return on investment for the American taxpayers and help poor countries achieve long-term economic growth.

In Tanzania, Mr. Yohannes will mark the upcoming completion of MCC’s $698 million compact, which invested in roads, water and energy. From April 10 to 12, Mr. Yohannes will travel to Zanzibar, Tanga and Dodoma to attend official ceremonies marking the completion of several MCC-funded projects relating to energy and road transportation. MCC’s five year compact with Tanzania will close in September of 2013, but the results of MCC’s investments can already be seen as Tanzanians benefit from improved roads and access to electricity.

 In Zanzibar, Mr. Yohannes will attend the completion of a new MCC-funded power transmission cable that links Zanzibar to the mainland’s electric grid, expanding power services to Zanzibar and creating opportunities for private-sector investment. In Dodoma, Mr. Yohannes’ visit marks the completion of 833 kilometers of power transmission and distribution lines in communities that now have access to electricity, enabling students to study and expanding critical social services like health centers.  

Mr. Yohannes will also travel to Tanga, where an MCC-funded highway now connects the cities of Tanga and Horohoro and opens northeast Tanzania to increased commerce.

Mr. Yohannes will meet with President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania and President Mohammed Shein of Zanzibar to discuss the ongoing partnership between MCC and Tanzania, which was deemed eligible to develop a second compact in December of 2012.

Mr. Yohannes will then travel to Senegal from April 15 to 17, where he will inaugurate MCC’s work on the RN6 highway and bridge in the Kolda region. MCC’s $540 million investment in Senegal targets road rehabilitation and improved irrigation and water management, and the RN6 highway and Kolda bridge represent almost one-third of that investment. MCC plans to rehabilitate at least 256 kilometers of highway, reducing travel time and increasing regional trade.

While in Senegal, Mr. Yohannes will meet with President Macky Sall. The CEO also will meet with American and Senegalese private sector and donor community leaders, which will offer an opportunity to discuss follow-on investments to MCC’s work in Senegal.

###

The report provides an overview of MCC’s work from October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012 and showcases MCC’s results-driven, country-led partnerships around the world. The report explains how MCC continues to push itself and its partners to deliver impactful, cost-effective development assistance.

The 2012 Annual Report provides a status update on current MCC programs worldwide and reviews results achieved in Benin, Ghana and El Salvador, where MCC compact programs were  completed during  the last fiscal year.

You can view the full 2012 Annual Report here: http://1.usa.gov/11mdjfb

MCC’s website, http://www.mcc.gov/, also offers opportunities to learn more about MCC’s key role in the U.S. Government’s overall efforts to reduce global poverty through economic growth.

• See detailed results of MCC programs. 
• Search related articles and op-eds. 
• Read more about MCC compacts and threshold programs. 
• Explore stories about people and families benefitting from MCC programs worldwide. 
• Watch videos of MCC events.

###

The dialogue at MCC focused on ways to enhance two-way trade and investment as well as regional economic integration, thereby spurring business and investment in Sierra Leone, Senegal, Malawi, and Cape Verde. Broad-based and sustainable economic growth is the key to enable greater self-sufficiency and opportunity throughout Africa, and private sector investment must drive this growth. The U.S. Government, including MCC, will continue to leverage the full complement of our efforts and tools in partnership with the four countries represented at our roundtable today to advance their homegrown strategies to strengthen their democratic institutions, promote private sector involvement and contribute to the fight against poverty. 

Cape Verde is an extremely water-scarce country that faces a number of challenges in the water and sanitation sector. Part of MCC’s five-year $66 million compact with Cape Verde will implement crucial water sector reforms and will invest in infrastructure to expand access to clean water and sanitation. This $41.1 million Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Project (WASH Project) is designed to establish a financially sound, transparent and accountable institutional basis for the delivery of water and sanitation services to Cape Verdean households and businesses across the country. The project’s approach to improving sector performance is based on a three-pronged strategy: (i) reforming national policy and regulatory institutions; (ii) transforming inefficient utilities into independent corporate entities operating on a commercial basis; and (iii) improving the quality and reach of water and sanitation infrastructure.

“Our cooperation with The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation is the perfect public-private partnership to leverage MCC investments in this critical sector. The Government of Cape Verde is undertaking serious policy reforms to strengthen the water sector, and this partnership is proof that they are taking the right steps to attract further private sector investments,” said MCC Resident Country Director Kenneth Miller.

The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation has pledged, through the Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN), to significantly invest alongside MCC’s effort in order to help up to 20,000 low-income households gain access to the water network, providing proper sanitation as well as hygiene education for thousands of people. As the implementing partner, MCA-Cape Verde is coordinating with Cavibel, the local Coca-Cola bottler, to maximize the impact of the partnership.

RAIN is the signature community initiative of The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation. Backed by a six-year, $30 million commitment by The Coca-Cola Company—in partnership with not-for-profit, humanitarian and government donors working nationally and internationally—RAIN's goal is to provide more than two million people in Africa with access to drinking water by 2015. RAIN seeks to implement at least one water project in each African country, and the foundation’s partnership with MCC will now enable RAIN to enter Cape Verde, its 31st country out of the continent’s 55 countries.

To date, MCC has invested $2.1 billion in water-related projects in 20 partner countries. Half of this amount is for projects that improve drinking water supply, sanitation and hygiene, with the remaining amount supporting improved water productivity and integrated water resources management.

For more information about MCC and its programs around the world please visit www.mcc.gov.

###