bond-like investment product. The minimum investment is $1,000; the interest MDLF will pay on each note is determined by the investor, limited to a maximum of 3 per cent per year; the term of the investment can be anything between 1 and 10 years. The first investment note was issued by MDLF alone and proceeds can be used for investments in any type of media, while the second investment note was issued in cooperation with the World Association of Newspapers, and proceeds can be used for investments in newspapers only. In Europe, MDLF has been involved in the issuing of a much more complex financial instrument, which - in addition to MDLF - brought together three additional partners: Swiss private bank Vontobel, Zurich-based social investment services provider responsAbility and the Swiss Development Agency (SDC). The result of this unusual partnership is the structured financial product "VONCERT responsAbility Media Development", listed on the Zurich stock exchange. Voncert combines a loan to MDLF at an interest rate of 1% per year (20% of the investment amount) with an investment (the remaining 80%) in a Vontobel swap note. The result for the investor is a simple bond-like product that includes a substantial social component, as 20 per cent of the investment will be reinvested in independent media through MDLF. The minimum investment in Voncert is 100 Swiss Francs, but the most appealing characteristic of this product is that you can buy it and sell it any day of the week on the Zurich stock exchange. Could these financial products be understood as the first sign that financial markets are warming to the idea of providing affordable capital to independent media in the developing world? Could this be a beginning of a trend? It is too early to say. For the time being, these are just the first isolated attempts which, if left to stand alone, are not likely to bring about the radical change that is needed. But even if these are just the first small steps, they are made in the right direction, and they have the potential to signal a whole new approach to providing affordable capital to independent media. It is only when attempts like these become a trend that the independent media sector will have a reason to look at its future with optimism.
MEDIA MATTERS SECTION 3: Challenges in Media Matters: Practitioner Experiences
“The challenge is to turn press freedom heroes into entrepreneurs, enabling them to establish an enduring platform for their journalism.�
114