A Message From Secretary of State Rex Tillerson:
America is safer when our partners abroad are stable and prosperous. With a goal of advancing developing countries from aid partners to trade partners, the Millennium Challenge Corporation pursues a singular mission of spurring economic growth—one of the most effective ways to achieve widespread and lasting reductions in poverty in the developing world.Founded with strong bipartisan support in 2004, MCC’s data-driven, results-oriented model has reshaped how the U.S. government approaches foreign assistance. The agency’s country-led investments promote good governance, transparency and economic freedom. MCC’s highly competitive selection process sometimes even inspires critical policy reforms before a single dollar of U.S. taxpayer money is spent.
MCC is committed to a collaborative relationship with the private sector. By bringing American business leaders into the development strategy and leveraging private investment opportunities worldwide, MCC is laying the foundation for continued investment and long-term prosperity for partner countries.
MCC also works to promote accountability and reduce corruption. By reducing corruption and improving stability in countries of significant strategic importance, MCC is supporting U.S. national security and planting the seeds for lasting bilateral relationships on behalf of the American people.
Executive Summary from Acting CEO Jonathan Nash
It has been an honor to lead the Millennium Challenge Corporation as it continues to fulfill its singular mission: to reduce poverty through economic growth in well-governed developing countries around the world. This report captures the progress made across MCC’s portfolio throughout FY2017, including new partnerships in Europe, Africa, and Asia and deepening collaboration with fellow development and private sector organizations. Throughout FY2017, the agency has also pursued new approaches to expand MCC’s impact, including efforts to better capture private sector feedback on MCC programs and operations and to more clearly communicate opportunities to partner and work with the agency.Over the last 13 years, MCC has invested more than $12 billion in economic growth projects around the globe. These time-limited investments are helping partner governments fund large infrastructure projects and make critical policy and institutional reforms that will enable them to better deliver services to their people and catalyze new business opportunities for private firms, all while advancing global stability and security.
In FY2017, the agency made substantial progress across its program portfolio, including significant new compact and threshold program partnerships and continued engagement with existing country partners. To highlight just a few examples:
- In September 2017, MCC and the Government of Nepal signed a compact that will increase the availability of electricity and lower the cost of transportation in the South Asian country. A commitment of $130 million from the Government of Nepal in support of the compact − the highest up-front contribution from a partner country – will enable MCC’s investment to have an even greater impact.
- MCC’s Board of Directors also approved the agency’s $524.7 million compact investment with Côte d’Ivoire at the Board’s September 2017 meeting. The program will support Côte d’Ivoire’s long-term drive to diversify its economy through investments in the education and transport sectors. As highlighted in this report, MCC’s engagement with Côte d’Ivoire also exemplifies the “MCC Effect”. After passing only five of 20 policy indicators in 2013, the Government of Côte d’Ivoire adopted MCC’s scorecard as its roadmap for reform, thereby demonstrating MCC’s ability to drive reform even before a dollar of U.S. taxpayer money is spent.
- Nine other MCC partner countries continued or began implementing compacts in FY2017, with the Benin and Morocco compacts achieving entry into force – a key program milestone that starts the five year implementation timeline. The agency also successfully oversaw the closure of MCC’s $275 million compact partnership with Jordan.
- Expanding MCC’s footprint in Eastern Europe, MCC and the Government of Kosovo also signed a $49 million threshold program addressing two binding constraints to economic growth: an unreliable power supply and real and perceived deficiencies in government accountability and transparency. In total, six countries partnered with MCC in FY2017 to develop or implement threshold programs. These programs help partners advance policy reforms and strengthen institutions to address binding constraints to growth, thereby offering the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to an MCC partnership.
During a visit to Morocco in early 2017, I saw this firsthand how MCC’s investments can stimulate economic growth and help lift people out of poverty by working together with the private sector to maximize impact and ensure sustainability. MCC signed its initial compact with Morocco in 2007 to increase productivity and improve employment in several high-potential sectors. The Government of Morocco recognized that, despite the country’s rich offerings, tourist spending on local artisan products was lower than in similar foreign markets. So in collaboration with the private sector, MCC’s investment equipped artisans with the training and skills they needed to capitalize on the growing tourist industry. My visit to see these artisans at work five years after MCC’s initial compact partnership with Morocco closed demonstrated that giving people the skills they need to succeed in the workforce can generate big rewards for decades to come. I look forward to seeing the progress we can make with our partners in MCC’s current Moroccan Employability and Land Compact.
With cost-effective projects, a lean staff and an evidence-based approach, MCC continues to be a good investment for the American people.
Board of Directors: Fiscal Year 2017
The MCC Board of Directors comprises five government officials and four individuals from the private sector, who are appointed to serve by the President with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate. The Board of Directors meets quarterly. At the end of fiscal year 2017, the Board had two vacancies among its members from the private sector.- Rex W. Tillerson, Chair, Secretary of State
- Steven T. Mnuchin, Vice Chair, Secretary of the Treasury
- Robert E. Lighthizer, U.S. Trade Representative
- Mark A. Green, Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development
- Jonathan G. Nash, Acting Chief Executive Officer, MCC
- Mike Johanns, Former U.S. Senator and Secretary of Agriculture
- Morton H. Halperin, Senior Advisor, Open Society Foundations and the Open Society Policy Center