Millennium Challenge Corporation

Description

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) uses multi-year agreements to invest in 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 29 low- and low-middle-income countries, supporting country-led 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.
• MCC ranked first among federal agencies on the 2020 Aid Transparency Index and number one on Results for America’s Invest in What Works Federal Standards of Excellence.
• Between F.Y. 2015 and F.Y. 2020, MCC dedicated $1.7 billion, or roughly 40% of its program funds, to climate-related activities and has committed that, over the next five years, more than half of its program funds will go towards climate-related activities.