The Mastercard Foundation was created nearly two decades ago when Mastercard — the global payment services corporation — went public in 2006. At the time, the company contributed a percentage of its assets toward the new foundation. Today, it has become one of the largest foundations in the world.
With approximately $40 billion in assets, the foundation has big ambitions, along with offices across Canada and sub-Saharan Africa. By 2030, it hopes to reach 30 million young people across the African continent, connecting them with “dignified, fulfilling work.”
On the sidelines of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s Spring Meetings, Devex asked Reeta Roy, the chief executive officer of the Mastercard Foundation, how she plans to achieve those ambitions — and what her reflections have been after 13 years at the helm of the foundation.