The Foundation’s “Fund for Rural
Prosperity” will promote innovation in financial services to improve the lives
of one million financially excluded people
The MasterCard Foundation has
launched a US$50 million challenge fund to improve the lives of smallholder
farmers in Africa by enabling businesses to begin or expand financial services
in rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa.
The
MasterCard Foundation Fund for Rural Prosperity
will support innovative ideas that have the potential to grow to scale and also
have a deep social impact on the lives of rural people living in poverty
throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. The Fund will operate under two broad
categories:
- Innovation: $15 million will support the development of ideas for new products, services or processes that increase access to finance for the rural poor; and
- Scaling: $35 million will help to scale the most promising ideas or pilots that have the potential to drive financial inclusion for smallholder farmers in new geographic areas.
The MasterCard Foundation Fund for
Rural Prosperity will be managed by KPMG International Advisory Services .
Initial applications for innovation proposals will be accepted from January 20, 2015 to March 20, 2015
for projects in 24 countries (see list of countries below). Later in the
year, applicants will have the opportunity to submit proposals for scaling
business ideas, products or services in eight countries (Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana,
Kenya, Mozambique, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia). More information,
including application forms, guidance notes and details on eligible countries
are on the website: www.frp.org
The
24 countries where The MasterCard Foundation Fund for Rural Prosperity will
operate its innovation competition are: Burundi, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon,
Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, DRC, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia,
Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone,
Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia.
For more information, please
contact:
Rose Ndung’u
Operations Manager
The MasterCard Foundation Fund for
Rural Prosperity
+254-722-945-712
Roger Morier
Senior Communications Manager,
Financial Inclusion
The MasterCard Foundation
+1-416-616-1864