MDF Results in 2008

OUR NETWORK OF BRANCH OFFICES

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In 2008 we carried out three (pre-)feasibility studies; Ghana, Bosnia and Morocco. In January 2009 a new branch office for West Africa in Ghana was initiated and since March 2009 a MDF Western Balkan office in Sarajevo has also become operational. The study into a possible office in Rabat will be continued in 2009, it has also been decided to carry out a feasibility study for an office in Indonesia. Hence, our network of branch offices indeed keeps on expanding.

MOST SALIENT FEATURES OF 2008

The most significant development at headquarter level was that we split the three previous clusters into four units. The span of control had become too wide and in this way more and better attention can be paid to coaching of staff and innovation. These are two crucial factors for the long-term sustainability of the MDF Group.

In 2008 MDF South Asia saw a slow, but steady, increase in self-generated assignments outside Sri Lanka. After establishing firm roots in the Sri Lankan market during the post-tsunami period 2005 - 2007, MDF-SA now seems well on its way to position itself more firmly as a regional service provider. With our open-entry courses being mostly attended by participants from South Asia, and a good number of assignments in the region, from Bangladesh to Thailand, from Afghanistan to Nepal and India, the challenge is to continue doing that whilst also retaining a strong position in the Sri Lankan market.

In 2008 MDF Brussels experienced the expiration of a number of our major contracts notably with the EC Training Programme in EDF 9 Financial & Contractual Procedures for ACP states and Brussels; and for a similar type of Training Programme for ENPI countries. The first one was retendered in 2008. We participated again, this time in a small and solid consortium, but the outcome will only be known in 2009.

At the same time, we focussed on other longer term assignments with one successful outcome already in 2008: In collaboration with lead partner Punto Sud "Provision of Training and Support Services for the Commission's Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid (ECHO)". Moreover, we intensified our participation in the Aid Delivery Methods Training & Methodological Support Programme for the EC.

In 2008 MDF Eastern & Southern Africa went through a difficult episode in its existence, due to the departure of a few key-staff members, among which the director. After a few difficult months, the organisation is now however back on track again and a new challenging DFID funded programme has been acquired in collaboration with KMPG East Africa.

In 2008 MDF Indochina opened a new representative office on Bali to deliver MDF's training courses, particularly targeting international participants. It was, rightfully, assumed that there is an international target group interested in coming to Bali for training. These courses proved a success in terms of number of participants, as well as their origin: a good mix from Indonesia and abroad. Hopefully in 2009 MDF will continue with opening a full-fledged office on Bali.

During the second year of its existence MDF Afrique Centrale and the population of Kivu encountered a lot of unrest due to frequent violent clashes between the various rebel groups and Congolese armed forces. There was cautious optimism for peace after the "Goma agreement" signed in January 2008 but implementation quickly fell through. Violence again engulfed the region from late August. Due to intensive diplomatic efforts a new agreement was signed early December. These events only slightly influenced the performance of our office in Goma. For the second year in a row we managed to increase the number of course participants, consultancy assignments and thus turnover.

FINANCIAL RESULTS

The turnover of the MDF group is € 10,579,674, which is again a surprising increase compared to 2007 when it was € 9,341,598. It is important to notice that the turnover and costs of the individual branch offices, including head quarters, is fluctuating considerably. This is due to a variety of reasons, such as, large projects starting or ending and the number of participants in courses that show unpredictable changes. In general, costs for overheads and staff remain fairly stable.

Hence our efforts in training and consultancy were quite well remunerated in 2008 with a rise of the total result, before taxes, from € 88,637 in 2007 to € 142.840 in 2008. Sweet fruits indeed, mainly due to the high productivity of staff (72%), a few new long-term training and consultancy assignments and an increase in the number of participants worldwide from 2,476 to 2,639.

Fact and figures in 2008

An overview of results of MDF Group:

* Participants in open-entry training courses