The MEDA team understands the problems that female and male microentrepreneurs encounter in Pakistan. While micro and small enterprises have potential to be the engine of growth and prosperity in Pakistan they struggle with cultural barriers, low productivity, limited services both financial and non-financial, and lack of information/education.

The goal of this initiative is to increase the incomes of no less than 120,000 microentrepreneurs, 75% of whom will be women, throughout 26 districts in Pakistan. This $30 million project will jointly be implemented with our visionary partners, ACDI/VOCA and JE Austin Associates Inc., and will develop the capacity of our local partners and private sector players to significantly scale up operations and to bring market-driven principles to their interactions with small and micro enterprises.

The project will focus on microentrepreneurs in twelve value chains, will double incomes (on average) in five years and will favor those subsectors that have greatest potential for scale as well as outreach to women.

Click here for more information on MEDA's projects in Pakistan.
Click here for access to the MEDA Pakistan website.

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MEDA Tanzania pledges to continue LLIN distribution efforts to children under 5 and pregnant women
Update on MEDA's continued efforts to increase bed net coverage for children under five and pregnant women in Tanzania.

Together with the Ministry of Health, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis, and the President's Malaria Initiative, MEDA recently committed to distribute up to 7.2 million Long-lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs), working closely with the private sector, to children under 5, and 1.4 million LLINs via pregnant women vouchers over a nationwide catch up campaign. The objective is to build on MEDA's success in boosting malaria prevention through the use of voucher schemes for bed net distribution in Tanzania. MEDA aims to cover at least 80% of all children under 5 with an LLIN and significantly reduce the incidence of malaria among children and pregnant women in Tanzania.

Click here for more information on MEDA's projects in Tanzania.

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USAID visitors tour MEDA's work in Tanzania
MEDA Tanzania recently hosted the Mission Director and Development Outreach and Communications Officer from USAID.

USAID's mission director Robert Cunnane and Development Outreach and Communications officer Cory Brandt toured sites of the Under Five Catch-up Campaign (U5CC) in June 2009. Under U5CC, MEDA is distributing six free long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets to children under age five and rapidly increasing net coverage for children from the current 47% up to 80% or higher.

Details available in the May 2009 issue of Medazine.

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MEDA Ukraine launches Agro Capital Management (LLC)
MEDA Ukraine recently launched a private company to help farmers access appropriate financial services to purchase farm assets.

In May 2009 MEDA launched Agro Capital Management (LLC), a private company in Ukraine. This is MEDA's creative response to the failure of Ukraine's financial sector to serve small farmers. ACM sells cold storage units and greenhouses on affordable deferred payment terms: a modest initial deposit and payments geared to the new revenue flows farmers earn from using the asset purchased. ACM expects to assist up to 3000 small farmers in its first five years.

Learn more about MEDA's activities in Ukraine.

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MEDA partners with USAID/FAO in Baluchistan, Pakistan
MEDA Pakistan has partnered with USAID and FAO to expand women's livelihoods programs in Baluchistan.

MEDA has just been awarded a Project by USAID/FAO entitled Women's Economic Empowerment: Integrating Women into Sustainable Value Chains in Baluchistan. MEDA Pakistan will start implementing this project in July 2009 and will focus two values chains: embellished garments and wool processing.

Learn more about MEDA's activities in Pakistan.