MasterCard Foundation heightens engagement in sub-Saharan Africa

Reeta Roy, president and CEO of The MasterCard Foundation. Photo by: Equity Bank / CC BY-NC-ND The MasterCard Foundation is a Canada-based philanthropic organization, which works in the areas of financial inclusion and education. Established in 2006 through a gift of shares from MasterCard, Inc., the foundation commands $11 billion in net assets. Headquartered in Toronto, the foundation supports projects in North America, South America, Africa and Asia. The foundation operates independently of the multinational financial services company and is headed by President and CEO Reeta Roy, alongside recently appointed Chairman of the Board Jim Leech. Roy and the board carry out the approval of project proposals at the foundation. The MasterCard Foundation made its largest disbursement to date in 2014, releasing $175 million to its partners in 32 countries. According to Roger Morier, senior communications manager at the foundation, disbursements for 2015 should be on a par with those in the past few years. The foundation aims to boost progress in developing countries by increasing access to learning and economic opportunities for the most economically disadvantaged and marginalized. As such, it uses its resources to support organizations that work in the finance and education sector. While the main areas of programming are in youth education and financial inclusion, the foundation is also becoming increasingly involved in supporting youth livelihoods. Detailed below are the foundation’s sectoral interventions and annual programmatic disbursements. Financial inclusion The MasterCard Foundation seeks to broaden access to financial services in underserved regions by improving the access and capacity of unbanked people to use financial services so they can create economic opportunities. The foundation also works to create sustainable financial institutions that can offer a range of services to poor and unbanked clients. It supports the development of financial products while finding new channels of delivery, such as mobile technology, to reach new markets and segments. Interventions in the finance sector also emphasize youth empowerment. The foundation finances research that will inform product development and delivery methods that cater to young people, while also providing financial education to younger members of the population. Finally, the MasterCard Foundation promotes responsible finance by encouraging the adoption of standards and best practices in transparency as well as the establishment of client protection mechanisms. Youth education Interventions in this area are designed to broaden access to education, provide training to out-of-school youth and create suitable employment opportunities for young people. To address post-primary school drop-offs, the foundation finances scholarships for secondary and tertiary education while fostering collaboration among top secondary schools and universities. The MasterCard Foundation also supports curriculum development in areas of information and communication technology and entrepreneurship. Other support measures for scaling access to education include mentoring, career guidance and skills development. MasterCard Foundation projects work with disadvantaged, out-of-school youth between the ages of 15 and 24. Through partnerships, the foundation expands innovative models that are supporting young people to transition out of poverty to stable livelihoods and to lead change in their communities. The foundation utilizes a holistic approach to youth employment, combining access to market-relevant skills, including vocational and life skills, mentorship and appropriate financial services. These interventions are carried out in sectors that are considered key economic drivers, namely agriculture, construction, and hospitality and tourism. The foundation also supports activities that help the youth find suitable employment. These include mentoring and apprenticeship programs, building strong linkages between young people and the job market, and the development and scale up of innovative job opportunities for the youth. The MasterCard Foundation actively seeks out organizations that have a proven track record in these fields and provides them with financial support. These organizations in turn administer funding while the foundation closely monitors their programs. The foundation selects its partners by working with sectoral experts that can identify which organizations would best be able to carry out its initiatives — it does not accept unsolicited proposals. Further, the foundation only partners with nongovernmental organizations, universities and multilateral institutions, including United Nations agencies and the International Finance Corp. In most cases, it does not engage for-profit organizations and government institutions. Below are some of the organizations that received financial support in 2014: ● ACCION International’s Center for Financial Inclusion● African Leadership Academy● Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa● CARE Canada● ChildFund International● Consultative Group to Assist the Poor● Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology● Makerere University● Opportunity International● U.N. Capital Development Fund The MasterCard Foundation focuses heavily in sub-Saharan Africa, working in 25 countries in the region to provide assistance in its core areas. Morier noted that although the foundation works mostly with larger, more established organizations, it has increasingly been cooperating with local organizations in sub-Saharan Africa — a trend he says will continue in coming years. This week, the foundation launched its scaling competition, the second of two competitive grants under its Fund for Rural Prosperity. The FRP is a $50 million challenge fund meant to provide access to financial services for up to 1 million poor people in rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa. The first call for proposals, called the innovation competition, was designed to support innovative financial products and services targeting the rural poor. That call for proposals closed in March, with the winners set to be announced in October. Meanwhile, the $35 million scaling competition aims to expand the reach of established financial products, services and mechanisms in eight African countries. Applications for this call for proposals will be accepted until Sept. 30, 2015, while winners will be announced in early 2016. To participate, interested organizations must register for the scaling competition through the MasterCard Foundation website. Although nonprofits may apply for funding, the FRP competitions primarily serve as an avenue for the foundation to engage private sector firms, such as banks, microfinance institutions, insurance companies and agribusinesses. Both competitions are set to be reopened annually until 2017, while fund administration, including monitoring and evaluation of the grantees’ programs, will be carried out through 2021. Contact Email: