Testimonials

[MDLF] provided funding and also the initial technological solution and training for us to create a network of independent radio stations around the nation ... [they] helped us change the broadcasting paradigm in Indonesia ... The long-dormant potential of radio finally has come to bear fruit, and MDLF provided many of the crucial elements that made it possible.

Santoso, Director, KBR68H, Jakarta, Indonesia

All that our publishing house has managed to achieve in difficult conditions - good newspaper circulations and high demand for our printing services - would not be possible without MDLF's support

Leonid Levin, CEO of Nord Press Holding, publisher of the daily Yakutsk Vecherny, Russia

It is always comforting to know when you're in a difficult situation that you have a partner who is invested in the business, who is going to stand by and be ready to assist you when you need the help. That is MDLF for Mail & Guardian.

Trevor Ncube, CEO, Mail & Guardian, South Africa

We discovered that many problems we had been working on for a long time had already been solved by others in other parts of the world.

Ihor P. Pochinok, Director, Publishing Group Express, Ukraine

Securing the support of the MDLF was a saving grace for us - not only because it gave us resources and possibilities that we had never had before, but also because it came with an insistence on more rigorous business practices that have added greatly to our success.

Marten du Plessis, Managing Editor, Noseweek, South Africa

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Track record

From 1996 to 31 December 2009, MDLF has provided $94.6 million in affordable financing, including:

• $82.3 million in loans and equity investments;
• $1.1 million in technical assistance grants;
• $10.7 million in other grants;
• $0.5 million through Digital Kiosk, the secure payment service for independent media.

MDLF has financed 206 projects for 72 independent media companies in 24 countries and has written off only 1.98% of the total loaned and invested.

MDLF ended December 2009 with a portfolio of approximately $38.3 million in outstanding loans and investments.