A DECADE OF DIFFERENCE

While intelligence, hard work, and ability are all equally distributed in communities around the world, investment and opportunity are not. This is as true for the small business owner in New York City as it is for the farmer in Lilongwe, Malawi — and it’s why, no matter where we work, we focus on giving people the means to determine their own future. Our results-oriented programs have already helped thousands of individuals and communities achieve greater, more sustainable levels of progress and prosperity. Here are 10 highlights from our past 10 years of work to strengthen economies around the world.

The Anchor Farm Project

Securing Livelihoods in Malawi

The Clinton Foundation’s Anchor Farm Project is a 1,000-hectare commercial farm that provides neighboring smallholder famers with access to quality inputs, trains them on productive techniques, and helps them find stable markets and fair prices. Through their affiliation with the project, smallholder farmers have experienced a 271 percent increase in yields, a 111 percent increase in the sale price of harvests, and a 185 percent increase in profitability — helping them support their families and uplift their communities. The Anchor Farm is now benefiting 2,505 surrounding farmers, 860 of whom are women.

The Clinton Global Initiative and CGI America

Committing to Economic Growth Worldwide

The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) asks everyone who attends its annual meeting to make a Commitment to Action to solve a specific global challenge. To date, because of commitments made by CGI members, more than 10 million people have improved their access to capital and financial services; more than $1.75 billion in capital has been invested in or loaned to small and medium enterprises; and more than 16 million women and girls have had access to empowerment initiatives — and that’s just the beginning of CGI’s many accomplishments. This June in Chicago, CGI will host its first-ever meeting focused solely on strengthening the U.S. economy: CGI America. Learn more at www.cgiamerica.org.

Cataract Surgeries Project

Strengthening Health to Enable Economic Growth in Peru

Several years ago, Juan Isaac Zapata Ruiz, a taxi driver from the Barrios Altos community in Lima, Peru, developed cataracts in both of his eyes; as the disease progressed, he was forced to significantly reduce his hours of work and could barely support his family. In September 2010, through the Clinton Foundation’s cataract surgeries project, he underwent surgery that restored his vision — and also helped him regain his livelihood. Able to work day and night again, Mr. Zapata’s income increased by almost 60 percent. By providing people like Mr. Zapata with this simple, life-changing procedure, we have helped to provide new economic opportunity to more than 16,000 Peruvians. And we plan to reach 50,000 people by 2013.

Trees of Hope

Forest Preservation Projects that Benefit Local Economies

Deforestation remains a major environmental challenge in Malawi and Rwanda, yet many communities do not find forest preservation profitable. The Clinton Foundation has worked to make tree farming attractive and profitable for smallholder farmers — thereby increasing local incomes and reversing deforestation at the same time. To date, 4.5 million trees have been planted by more than 4,000 smallholder farmers in these regions. Eventually, the carbon offset by these trees will be sold on the international marketplace as forest carbon credits, providing an additional opportunity for local income.

Entrepreneur Mentoring Program

Partnering to Help U.S. Small Businesses

The Clinton Foundation’s Entrepreneur Mentoring Program (EMP), a partnership with Inc. magazine, facilitates structured, high-impact mentoring relationships between successful business leaders and emerging entrepreneurs in underserved communities. Since the program’s launch, mentors have donated more than 14,000 mentoring hours to EMP entrepreneurs, helping them grow their businesses and become better business leaders. The EMP has generated impressive results: in 2010, the average job growth rate for EMP companies was 20 percent, and the average revenue growth rate was 12 percent. The program currently operates in Chicago, Newark, New York City, Oakland, and Philadelphia.

Energy Efficiency Retrofit Projects

Climate Action that Also Lifts Economies

The retrofit of the Empire State Building, which will include high-efficiency window glass replacement, redesigned heating and cooling systems and controls, and lighting improvements, is expected to reduce the building’s energy use by 38 percent and energy bills by $4.4 million annually — resulting in a building that’s more environmentally as well as economically sustainable. But in the short term, the project is also creating hundreds of jobs, giving an important boost to the local economy. The Clinton Foundation is initiating retrofit projects like this one in cities all over the world, saving money for individuals and governments and putting people to work.

Soyco LTD and Rwandan Farmers Coffee Company

Uplifting Communities through Agribusiness in Rwanda

The Clinton Foundation is working to advance two major agribusinesses in Rwanda: Soyco LTD and Rwandan Farmers Coffee Company (RFCC). Soyco is a large soy processing business that is contracting with an estimated 30,000 local farms to grow soybeans while also providing quality inputs to help them improve their yields. RFCC is constructing a coffee roasting and packaging facility in Kigali that will have the capacity to process 3,000 tons of coffee every year, improving incomes for up to 50,000 local farmers. This project builds upon the Foundation’s longstanding work with Rwandan coffee farmers to increase their yields, improve their marketing, and develop their own brand.

Market Linkages and Sustainable Business

Assisting Small Producers in Latin America

In order to generate enough revenue to grow, create jobs, and ultimately uplift their communities, microenterprises need access to formal markets and large buyers. The Clinton Foundation is helping small producers in Colombia and Peru build capacity and improve their products so that they can reach these formal markets — and then securing commitments from large buyers to purchase locally. In 2010, through our Income Generation Project in Colombia, 717 microenterprises generated enough growth to create 2,160 jobs; through the Hotel Supplier Network Project in Cartagena, 23 local suppliers generated $910,000 in sales.

The Clinton Presidential Center

Bringing Investment to Downtown Little Rock

The William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park chronicles an American presidency at the end of the 20th century, inspires future generations of leaders, and is the state’s top destination for visitors from around the world. But the Center has also driven economic development throughout the Little Rock community as well as throughout the state. According to the Downtown Little Rock Partnership, the Center has spurred more than $2 billion in revitalization and investment in the community; projects include the renovation of the Rock Island Railroad Bridge, which will convert the historic site into a pedestrian pathway.

Job Training and Sustainable Employment

Empowering Individuals with Marketable Skills

Access to job training and education is severely limited in the poorer regions of Colombia, Peru, and Mexico, preventing large portions of the population from finding good jobs. To help people in these communities build more sustainable livelihoods, CGSGI has developed training programs that teach marketable skills and has secured commitments from large employers to hire graduates of the programs. To date, more than 1,200 jobs have been created from job training programs in Colombia — and new projects are underway in other regional cities.