Mastercard Foundation or The Foundation, formerly known as The Mastercard Foundation, is a non-profit organization that works with visionary organizations to enable young people in Africa and in Indigenous communities in Canada to access quality education, gain dignified and fulfilling work, while driving transformative change and achieving their full potential. The Foundation is an independent foundation based in Toronto, Canada. It is one of the largest private foundations in the world. Through its work with partner organizations, it provides greater access to education, skills training and financial services for people living in poverty, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Foundation was established as an independent entity in 2006 by MasterCard Worldwide when it became a public company.
The Foundation’s mission and values is to advance education and financial inclusion to catalyse prosperity in developing countries and to support Indigenous youth in Canada. In summary, the Mastercard Foundation seeks a world where all have the opportunity to learn and prosper. In order to achieve this goal, the Foundation brings together the private sector, donors, young people, and civil society – to create effective systems and infrastructures, supportive policies, and an environment where young people can find work and entrepreneurs and small enterprises can succeed and grow. The Foundation is located in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Uganda.
The Programs and Initiatives under Mastercard Foundation include the
Youth Employability and Entrepreneurship
- Youth Forward initiative
- Youth Think Tank (YTT)
Scholars Program
Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (MCFSP at KNUST) provides academically talented yet economically disadvantaged young people in Ghana and Africa with access to quality university education. The Program offers an opportunity for its scholars to receive holistic training that empowers them to be change leaders. The Scholars Program embodies an array of services including mentorship, cultural transition, etc. that will lead to the scholar’s academic success, community engagement and transition to employment opportunities which will further the goal of social and economic transformation of Africa.
Health Collaborative
e-Learning Initiative
ASU-KNUST 3+1+1 1 International Accelerated Degree Program (Iadp)
In fulfillment of the Foundation’s vision to foster collaboration and learning amongst the Scholars Program partner institutions, the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at ASU partnered with KNUST in 2016 to train a cohort of 150 students under a 3+1+1 International Accelerated Degree Program (IADP) funded by the Mastercard Foundation. This is a tri-part partnership between KNUST, ASU and Ashesi University. In this partnership, the beneficiary students will spend three (3) years at KNUST or Ashesi and two (2) years at ASU; at the end, scholars who be conferred with both a BSc. (from KNUST or Ashesi University) and an MSc. (from ASU) in their respective fields. It is hoped that these scholars would be in a position to contribute to societal change and transformation.
As part of this collaboration, Faculty/Staff from both institutions undertake exchange visits to each other’s campus to study best practices as well as discuss new study areas for expansion to strengthen the partnership. Over the years, this faculty exchange has proven beneficial for both ASU and KNUST faculty. Under this partnership, KNUST onboarded a total of 130 scholars and Ashesi University onboarded 20 scholars making up the total 150 scholarships awarded.