In 2021 we celebrated our 25th anniversary – a quarter of a century since we provided our first loan to Slovakia’s SME to help it survive the rule of autocratic prime minister Vladimír Mečiar. Read our story and SME’s recollections of that first loan.
Over 25 years, MDIF (or rather, MDLF as we were at the time – we switched ‘Loan’ for ‘Investment’ in 2013) has changed significantly, as have the media companies we work with. It has been an amazing journey and we decided to capture some of the most important things we have learned in a way that sought inspiration from the past but has real relevance to the present.
On this and the following pages, we’re pleased to share some of the lessons we have learned. They include practical insights from team members about helping media develop robust businesses, like the critical questions all media entrepreneurs should ask themselves when launching a startup, as well as lessons relating to how we carry out our work, such as how best to provide media advisory and startup assistance, and wider media environment issues, like the scourge of SLAPPs and legal harassment.
We think this stimulating content from across MDIF is a fitting tribute to 25 years of investing in independent media.
