The Millennium Challenge Corporation is a small US development agency — but it punches above its weight, especially in the power sector. With a singular focus on economic growth, MCC is the only US agency putting grant capital into crucial energy infrastructure that the private sector won’t finance — like public electricity grids and utilities. MCC also retains bipartisan support in an extremely polarized moment — no small feat. And energy is becoming an even more significant part of its portfolio.

The MCC Board of Directors will meet December 10 to select new countries for investment, decide which existing programs will continue, and determine the future of MCC’s model.

In this Coffee Break Briefing on 12/16/2025, Policy Director Katie Auth talks it through with Resident Fellow Casey Dunning Davis, former Director of Results and Learning at MCC. What do the Board’s decisions mean for the agency’s future? How are its energy interventions likely to change? And what can others learn from MCC’s approach?