The Canada-based Mastercard Foundation recently announced that 24 educational technology (edtech) startups in Kenya and Nigeria have joined the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship program, which promotes “technology in learning and teaching to benefit learners, education and edtech innovators across the continent” of Africa. The Kenyan inductees are listed at:
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: First Consult, Mastercard Foundation, Seek to Create 400k Jobs in Ethiopia via Access to Finance, Wraparound Support for MSMEs, Entrepreneurs
Ethiopia’s First Consult and the Canada-based Mastercard Foundation recently launched a programme intended to increase financial inclusion and support 72,000 micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Ethiopia to
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “The Business Case for Linkage With Informal Savings;” by Constantin Albot, Stephen Peachey; Published by MasterCard Foundation, Oxford Policy Management
This report describes Savings at the Frontier (SatF), a partnership between Canadian NGO MasterCard Foundation and UK-based consultancy Oxford Policy Management, that provided USD 17.6 million in technical assistance and direct funding to establish relationships between formal financial service providers (FSPs) and informal savings mechanisms (ISMs). The program ran from 2015 to 2022, engaging 10 FSPs in
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Savings and Retail Banking in Africa: Unpacking the Customer Through Demand Side Data,” published by World Retail Savings and Banking Institute, MasterCard Foundation
This report offers three case studies on how financial services providers (FSPs) may expand and improve their usage of data to devise client-centric services and minimise account dormancy. The first case study is on the
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Pan-Atlantic University’s EDC, Mastercard Foundation Launch “Transforming Nigeria Youths Program” to Create 40k Jobs for Young People, Women
The Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) of Nigeria’s Pan-Atlantic University along with the Canada-based Mastercard Foundation recently launched the Transforming Nigerian Youths Program to “create a network of entrepreneurial and managerial changemakers particularly…across the micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises sector in Nigeria.” The goal is to provide 40,000 youth and women with
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Board for Small Scale Industries, Mastercard Foundation Announce $15m Emergency Fund for MSMEs in Ghana Affected by COVID-19
The Canada-based Mastercard Foundation and Ghana’s National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), a unit of that country’s Ministry of Trade and Industry, recently agreed to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic with a “Recovery and Resilience Program for MSMEs.” The program will provide micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) with
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mastercard Foundation Commits $300m to Bring “Young Africa Works” to Ethiopia
The Canada-based Mastercard Foundation recently committed USD 300 million to Ethiopia to expand Young Africa Works, an initiative intended to create job opportunities for 30 million young Africans, 70 percent of whom are women, in 10 countries by 2030. The effort, which was launched in partnership with Ethiopia’s Jobs Creation Commission (JCC), will fund programs that
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mastercard Foundation Commits $200m to “Young Africa Works,” a 10-year, 10-country Effort Launching in Senegal
The Canada-based Mastercard Foundation recently announced that Senegal is among the first countries in which it will roll out Young Africa Works, an initiative intended to create job opportunities for 30 million young Africans, 70 percent of whom are women, in 10 countries by 2030. The foundation has made a
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CDC, FinDev Canada, Mastercard Foundation, OPIC, PROPARCO Sponsoring 2X Invest2Impact Competition, Offering $1m to “High-potential” Women Entrepreneurs in East Africa
A group of development finance institutions (DFIs), along with the Canada-based Mastercard Foundation, recently announced they will sponsor the 2X Invest2Impact business competition with the aim of supporting “the growth of high-potential, women-owned businesses [in East Africa] to increase their commerciality and impact.” The DFIs co-sponsoring the competition include the following government-backed institutions: CDC Group, a UK-based organization formerly known as the Commonwealth Development Corporation; FinDev Canada; the US government’s
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Small Businesses and Digital Financial Services: Predictive Modelling and Segmentation for Market Sizing and Product Design;” Published by International Finance Corporation (IFC), Mastercard Foundation
By Sinja Buri, Morne van der Westhuizen and Soren Heitman; published by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Mastercard Foundation; April 2019; 27 pages; available at https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/industry_ext_content/ifc_external_corporate_site/financial+institutions/resources/small+businesses+and+digital+financial+services+predictive+modelling+and+segmentation+for+market+sizing+and+product+design
It is widely believed that the growth of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) can catalyze the development of economies such as those in Sub-Saharan Africa. Due to financial institutions’ challenges in identifying where
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mastercard Foundation Fund for Rural Prosperity Awards $4.4m for Innovative Financial Services in Burundi, Ghana, Mali, Tanzania, Zambia
The Canada-based Mastercard Foundation recently announced the following organizations will share USD 4.4 million from the final competition phase of its Fund for Rural Prosperity (FRP): Promotion du Sesame du Mali (PROSEMA), Lima Kwanza Limited of Tanzania, Savonor of Burundi, Sprint Money Limited of Zambia and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: The MasterCard Foundation Fund for Rural Prosperity Awards $3m to Ibero Uganda, First Access, Letshego; Is Accepting Applications for More Funding Through August 10
KPMG, a network of professional firms providing business services in 155 countries, recently informed MicroCapital that The MasterCard Foundation Fund for Rural Prosperity has awarded USD 1 million each to the following financial services providers: Ibero Uganda for the provision of loans, training and related services to coffee farmers; US-based First Access for an agricultural credit scoring mechanism for lenders serving farmers in Tanzania; and Botswana-based Letshego Financial Services for an agency banking project in Mozambique.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: The Mastercard Foundation Symposium on Financial Inclusion, $150k “Clients at the Centre” Prize; November 8-9, 2017; Accra, Ghana
Event Name: The Mastercard Foundation Symposium on Financial Inclusion
Event Date: November 8 – November 9, 2017
Event Location: Accra, Ghana
Cost: This event is open by invitation only
Summary of Event: The symposium will focus on increasing the knowledge of financial service providers regarding the financial lives of poor people in an effort to enable the providers to design and deliver products that are more closely aligned with people’s needs.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Apply by June 5 for The MasterCard Foundation’s $150k “Clients at the Centre” Prize
The MasterCard Foundation, which is based in Canada, is accepting applications through June 5 for its 2017 “Clients at the Centre” Prize, which includes a cash award of USD 150,000.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: UN Digital Financial Services Toolkits; 7th IMF Financial Access Survey; IFC, The MasterCard Foundation Mobile Money Handbook
“How to Succeed in Your Digital Journey: a Series of Toolkits for Financial Service Providers”; Published by the United Nations Capital Development Fund’s MicroLead Program; October 2016; available upon request via: https://uncdf.wufoo.com/forms/q4pnwh31pqtp7r/
This first portion of a six-part digital toolkit, which is available in English and French, was designed to benefit microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other financial services providers that aim to offer digital financial services to unbanked populations residing in remote locations.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC to Advise FINCA DRC on Boosting Access to Credit, Mobile Banking in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with Funding from The MasterCard Foundation
The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently agreed to provide two years of advisory services, valued at USD 1 million, to FINCA DRC, a unit of US-based FINCA Microfinance Holding Company that provides savings and credit services to 256,000 customers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The goal is to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kiva, The MasterCard Foundation Announce 5-Year, $7.9m Project to Promote Financial Inclusion in Rural Sub-Saharan Africa
Kiva, a US-based, nonprofit crowdfunding platform for microfinance institutions (MFIs), and The MasterCard Foundation, a Canadian organization founded by the US-based payments firm MasterCard Worldwide, recently announced a five-year, USD 7.9 million project to develop loan products and other financial services specific to the needs of smallholder farmers and others living in rural Sub-Saharan Africa.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: The MasterCard Foundation, Root Capital to Invest $5.2m in Early-Stage Agricultural Businesses in West Africa
Root Capital, a US-based nonprofit investment fund, and The MasterCard Foundation, a Canadian organization founded by the US-based payments firm MasterCard Worldwide, recently announced a partnership aimed at raising incomes for 300,000 smallholder farmers in West Africa.