MEDA Annual Report – 2014

Executive View

Throughout this report you’ll learn how MEDA’s frontier investing and programs are helping poor families unleash their entrepreneurial spirit and skills to build sustainable livelihoods – creating business solutions to poverty.

If you visited these people, you’d hear stories of how their increased income has impacted their families, their communities, and their dreams for the future – stories of better health and nutrition … of children now able to attend university … of small businesses able to employ many more in the community … and of their ability to care for the needy in their midst. It’s truly a gift to be able to share God’s love in this way!

On Wall Street and Bay Street, frontier investing has been heralded as a new answer to poverty.

But the idea that investing capital in small and medium companies in frontier markets can be both financially rewarding for investors and good economic development for their customers, staff and communities is not new. MEDA has been doing this for 61 years.

However, creating ways to do this on a scale attractive to investors large and small – that is the new frontier – the space where MEDA and our Sarona funds are truly at the leading edge.

This year we helped 46.4 million families in 62 countries realize healthier, more economically sustainable lives. Working through 248 partners, we reached:

• 44 million clients of microfinance institutions and small and medium enterprises where MEDA has invested through a Sarona fund;
• 2 million families who received mosquito nets in Tanzania;
• and nearly half a million farmers and entrepreneurs who received training, financial services and/or access to markets.

And that’s in addition to the clients of organizations we worked with in the past who continue to serve thousands of entrepreneurs long after MEDA is no longer directly involved.

Your contributions made this possible! We multiplied your $6 million in private contributions with government and foundation funding to achieve a total budget of nearly $42 million.

We invested Sarona Risk Capital Fund assets of $20 million ($9.3 million equity) in funds and companies, for total assets under management of $410 million – up 21% from last year largely due to substantial growth in MicroVest and the Sarona Frontier Markets Fund 2 LP.

We were grateful to realize a net surplus of $930,000 from an operating surplus of $980,000 and a slight loss in our Sarona Risk Capital Fund equity due to the write-down of assets in Ukraine following the political challenges there.

We’re thankful for our supporters, our board, and our wonderful staff who work so hard and share so generously to keep MEDA at the leading edge. We invite you to join in this work.

Debbie Sauder David, Chair
Allan Sauder, President