A Message from Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Chair of the MCC Board of Directors
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is an independent U.S. government development agency working to reduce global poverty through economic growth. Created in 2004, MCC provides time-limited grants that pair investments in infrastructure with policy and institutional reforms to countries that meet rigorous standards for good governance, fighting corruption, and respecting democratic rights. Today, MCC continues to deliver on this mission around the world by combining a private sector approach with years of development expertise. MCC emphasizes country-led solutions and requires selected countries to identify their priorities for achieving sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction. This work is a critical part of our broad effort to strengthen partnerships to solve the shared global challenges of food, health, energy and climate, migration, and economic security.MCC’s core principles – selectivity, country ownership, transparency, and a focus on results – ensure MCC invests in countries that are committed to good governance, economic freedom, and investing in their people. MCC follows the data to produce evidence-based investments designed to maximize economic impact to benefit some of the world’s poorest populations and maximize the impact of U.S. taxpayer dollars.
The agency’s investments are designed to specifically target a country’s most binding constraints to economic growth and leverage policy and institutional reform. MCC investments in critical sectors like energy, water, transportation, and agriculture are part of a holistic approach to promote sustainable growth in our partner countries. To date, MCC has invested more than $14 billion through 42 compacts in 31 countries, benefiting over 215 million people worldwide.
Without question, Russia’s war against Ukraine, the resulting food security crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic have all created unparalleled challenges, but the agency has continued to deliver on its mission through the strong commitment of its workforce and partner countries. Despite these challenges, MCC celebrated many accomplishments in fiscal year 2022 (FY 2022), including completing one compact and two threshold programs, signing two new threshold programs, preparing for implementation with signed compacts in six countries, implementing compacts and threshold programs in seven countries, and developing new compacts and threshold programs in 10 countries.
A Message from Chief Executive Officer Alice Albright
As I approach the end of my first year as Chief Executive Officer, it has been an honor to lead the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) as we continue our important work with partners to reduce poverty through sustainable and inclusive economic growth. This report captures the progress made across MCC’s portfolio throughout Fiscal Year 2022, including new threshold program agreements and compacts in Europe, Africa, and Asia. MCC’s innovative model based on the principles of inclusiveness, accountability, transparency, and innovation sets a high standard for effective development assistance and stewardship of taxpayer resources. It also encourages partner countries to drive success and promote shared democratic values.FY22 was a banner year for MCC. The agency signed threshold program agreements with the Solomon Islands and The Gambia and new compact agreements with Lesotho, Timor-Leste, Kosovo, and Malawi. All told, the agency signed $1.3 billion in new programs in FY22 which increased to $1.8 billion with the signing of our first concurrent compact in December with Benin and Niger to advance regional integration and trade in West Africa. The new investments are expected to benefit more than 13 million people. In FY22, MCC also completed the Ghana Power Compact, along with threshold programs in Guatemala and Kosovo.
The $316 million power compact in Ghana strengthened the country’s energy sector through investments that will provide more reliable and affordable electricity to Ghana’s businesses and households. The compact aims to create jobs, conserve precious energy resources, and prepare Ghana to address the challenges of a changing global climate. MCC also closed a $28 million threshold program with Guatemala, which will enhance the quality of secondary education to prepare Guatemalans for the job market and attract private investment to support infrastructure development. In May, the Government of Lesotho and MCC signed a $300 million Health and Horticulture Compact, which seeks to expand access to quality healthcare, create equitable business development opportunities, empower women, and invest in high-value crop production. Two of the things that excite me the most about this compact are its focus on women’s empowerment and the potential for MCC’s investments in horticulture to reduce Lesotho’s reliance on food imports. Finally, MCC made headway with six compacts and four threshold programs in implementation.
Looking ahead, MCC is continuing to develop an impressive pipeline of potential compacts in Asia and Africa. These compacts include opportunities across the strategic areas of climate, gender and inclusion, catalyzing private sector investment, as well as substantial infrastructure investments that are aligned with the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) initiative. We continue to move forward with compacts in Indonesia, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Belize, and Zambia.
Board of Directors: Fiscal Year 2022
The MCC Board of Directors (the “Board”) in FY22 comprised five government officials and four individuals from the private sector who are appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Board meets quarterly.Antony J. Blinken, Chair, Secretary of State
Janet Yellen, Vice Chair, Secretary of the Treasury
Katherine Tai, U.S. Trade Representative
Samantha Power, Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development
Alice Albright, MCC Chief Executive Officer
Alexander (Ander) Crenshaw, Former U.S. Representative
George Marcus, Founder and Chairman of Marcus & Millichap Company