Millennium Challenge Corporation Announces $3.25 Million Pre-Compact Development Grant Agreement with Namibia

Washington, D.C.—The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) today announced a grant agreement with the Government of Namibia to provide up to $3.25 million to support Namibia’s development of a Millennium Challenge Compact. The funding will be used to support the MCA-Namibia team responsible for the finalization of the compact, while establishing an accountable entity that will implement the compact. The funding will also support a strategic environmental assessment for all program components.

In September 2006, the Government of Namibia submitted a proposal to MCC designed to reduce poverty through economic growth and foster economic transformation. The proposal aims to achieve this goal by improving the education and training of the Namibian workforce, increasing the productivity of farm enterprises in rural areas and stimulating growth in Namibia’s tourism industry. Key sectors proposed include Education, Community-Based Tourism and Agriculture. Although Namibia’s compact proposal is in the final stages of due diligence review by MCC, this pre-compact grant will help accelerate the development and effective implementation of a compact.
For more information on how MCC is working together with Namibia to reduce poverty through economic growth, including past press releases and web-based resources, please visit: http://www.mcc.gov/countries/namibia/index.php.

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Millennium Challenge Corporation, a U.S. government corporation designed to work with developing countries, is based on the principle that aid is most effective when it reinforces sound political, economic, and social policies that promote poverty reduction through economic growth. For more information, please visit www.mcc.gov.