by Stefanie Rubin -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Plan Canada and The MasterCard Foundation Create $4.1m Youth Microfinance Project in Niger, Sierra Leone and Senegal

Plan Canada, a nonprofit children’s relief organization, has partnered with The MasterCard Foundation, a private Canadian foundation that supports microfinance, to create a USD 4.1 million program that aims to expand microfinance services to youth (ages 15 to 25) in Niger, Sierra Leone and Senegal.

by Eric McKay -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MasterCard Foundation, CARE Canada, Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC) to Extend Microfinance Services in Tajikistan and Rwanda

The MasterCard Foundation, a private Canadian foundation that supports microfinance; CARE Canada, an international humanitarian organization; and the Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC), a nonprofit organization that supports international development, recently announced that they are providing CAD 9 million (the equivalent of USD 8.8 million) to fund two new programs that aim to extend savings services to 900,000 residents of Tajikistan and Rwanda.

by Eric McKay -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and MasterCard Foundation to Grant $16m to Opportunity International’s African Microfinance Program

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the MasterCard Foundation are partnering to award a grant of USD 16 million to Opportunity International, an international non-profit organization with a microfinance program headquartered in Malawi. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation website announces that the purpose of the grant is “to support the expansion of new delivery channels, savings and agricultural finance in Malawi, Ghana, and other African countries” [1].

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Opportunities, MasterCard Foundation Launch Campaign to Encourage Enduser Adoption of Branchless Banking

The US-based nonprofit Microfinance Opportunities and Canada’s MasterCard Foundation recently announced the launch of a three-year effort to encourage the adoption of branchless banking services by low-income youth and women and by poor people in rural areas. 

by Bharathi Ram -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: The MasterCard Foundation in association with the Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC) and CARE Canada to Invest USD 9m to Expand Savings Initiatives in Tajikistan and Rwanda

The MasterCard Foundation, an independent, private foundation based in Toronto, Canada has announced two new programs to expand savings initiatives in the countries of Tajikistan and Rwanda. According to a press release on PR Newswire, a total investment of USD 9 million will be made towards these programs aimed at strengthening and creating innovations within the Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) model. The program in Tajikistan will be in association with the non-profit, Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC) whereas CARE Canada (an operational member of the private, international humanitarian organization CARE International) will be involved with the MasterCard Foundation for the Rwandan initiative. The electronic news and information portal, PR Newswire is headquartered in New York, USA and is a subsidiary of the London based global business media company United Business Media Plc.

by Iyanna Holmes -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: The MasterCard Foundation and Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) to Provide Microfinance Services for Poor Youth in Egypt and Morocco

The MasterCard Foundation and Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA), a Canadian Christian organization, have announced a USD 5 million five-year program that will provide financial services to youth between the ages of 15 and 24 in Morocco and Egypt.  Microfinance services for the youth market have traditionally been scarce due to the perception that youth borrowers are higher risk because they lack collateral or work experience.  The program, titled Youth Invest, will enable microfinance institutions to develop and test innovative products designed specifically for the youth maket. 

by Jeffrey Erfe -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) and MasterCard Foundation Establish $19.6m Microfinance Program in Uganda

On November 18, the MasterCard Foundation, a private foundation in Toronto, Canada, and the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), a Bangladeshi microfinance institution (MFI), targeted two million Ugandans with a USD 19.6 microfinance program.  The need for deeper, more mature microfinance markets in Uganda is strong, implies a recent Business Wire story.  The government made expanding financial services for the rural poor a “top priority” in a country where more than 37 percent of the population live on less than a dollar a day and 62 percent do not have access to financial services.

by Sarah Knapp -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Toronto’s MasterCard Foundation Grants $604,473 to Six Global Microfinance Training Institutes

Through the equivalent of USD 604,473 in grants, Toronto-based MasterCard Foundation recently initiated the Scholars Program to provide 200 scholarships for microfinance leaders in developing countries. The Foundation aims to increase access to management and professional development courses via six institutes: the Boulder Institute of Microfinance, the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, the HBS-ACCION Program for Strategic Leadership in Microfinance, the Microfinance Centre, the Microfinance Management Institute and the School of Applied Microfinance. Each organization will receive a grant of the equivalent of USD 100,740.

by the MicroCapital Team -

Who’s Who in Microfinance: MasterCard Foundation Names it Leadership

The MasterCard Foundation was established in May 2006 as an independent charitable foundation based in Toronto, Canada by MasterCard Worldwide Financial Institutions. Its mission is “to broaden access to the global economy through innovative microfinance programs and to increase access to quality educational opportunities for underserved people.”

Continue reading “Who’s Who in Microfinance: MasterCard Foundation Names it Leadership”

by the MicroCapital Team -

MasterCard Foundation Announced Worth 10% of MasterCard Shares, Possibly a New $500m Grant-Maker in Microfinance

With plans to become a publicly traded company beginning next year, MasterCard Incorporation expects to establish the MasterCard Foundation initially worth 10% of the company. The foundation’s future work will be directed to microfinance services and supporting young people in gaining work-place skills.
Continue reading “MasterCard Foundation Announced Worth 10% of MasterCard Shares, Possibly a New $500m Grant-Maker in Microfinance”

by Arin Atluri -

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Driving Financial Resilience Through Formal Savings Among the Low-Income Population,” by Laura Courbois et al, Published by World Savings and Retail Banking Institute

This paper explores the extent to which saving through the Scale2Save program allows customers to increase their financial resilience. Two NGOs, the Canada-based Mastercard Foundation and the Belgium-based World Savings and Retail Banking Institute, created

by Arin Atluri -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank of Abyssinia to Loan $13m to 4 Microfinance Institutions in Ethiopia for Lending to MSMEs Based on Movable Collateral

Bank of Abyssinia (BOA), a financial services provider in Ethiopia, recently agreed to loan ETB 600 billion (USD 13 million) to four Ethiopian microfinance institutions (MFIs) to increase financial access for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) by harnessing moveable collateral such as

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Student Lending for Tertiary Education: Omtrix Offers Lessons Learned from 10 Years of HEFF

The OmtrixThe Higher Education Finance Fund (HEFF) was implemented in seven Latin American countries with the objective of improving access to tertiary education for motivated yet socially disadvantaged young people. It was promoted by Omtrix, Inc., a consulting and fund man­agement company based in Costa Rica. HEFF’s equity investors were the German development bank KfW, the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund), the Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets, the Luxembourg Finance and Development Fund, Corporación Andina de Fomento, Omtrix and the Calvert Social Investment Foundation.

HEFF was premised on the idea that student loans are an intrinsically viable product for financial institutions (FIs) with social objectives. The experience of HEFF confirmed the validity of this notion, provided that

by Anna Gravois -

MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Young People in Africa: Research Showing Opportunities for Financial Service Providers in Morocco, Nigeria and Senegal,” Published by World Savings Banks Institute

By Lise Paaskesen and Steven Peachey, published by the World Savings Banks Institute (WSBI), October 2019, 45 pages, available at 
https://www.wsbi-esbg.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/0587_ESBG_BRO_CENTRALREPORT%20(004).pdf

The Scale2Save initiative of WSBI and the Mastercard Foundation is intended to contribute to improving financial services for people aged 15 to 30 years by examining their access to services, support structures and entrepreneurship opportunities in three rapidly growing African countries – Morocco, Nigeria and Senegal. Part of this work is to