Millennium Challenge Corporation

Description

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) uses multi-year agreements to invest in country-lead projects that create jobs, expand markets, promote growth, and lay the groundwork for healthy communities in some of the world’s poorest countries.

Use of Funds

MCC investments include compacts and threshold programs. Compacts are large, five-year grants for selected countries that meet MCC’s eligibility criteria. Threshold programs are smaller grants focused on policy and institutional reform in countries that come close to passing MCC’s eligibility criteria and show a firm commitment to improving their policy performance.

Justification

• Since its inception, the MCC has invested more than $15 billion in compact and threshold programs across 28 low- and low-middle-income countries, supporting projects in agriculture, anti-corruption, education, energy, health, land rights, transportation, infrastructure, water supply, and sanitation.
• Countries undergo competitive selection, where sound economic and social policies and democratic governance play a significant role in ensuring that inclusive economic growth reaches the poorest people.
• Between F.Y. 2015 and F.Y. 2020, MCC dedicated $1.7 billion, or roughly 42% of its program funds, to climate-related activities.
• In 2022 MCC and Malawi signed the $350 million MCC-Malawi Transport and Land Compact, which includes $26.5 million from the Government of Malawi. The compact will reduce transport costs by upgrading roads to connect farmers to markets and strengthening the country’s land administration.