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Article

19 May 2016

Author:
MasterCard Foundation

MasterCard Foundation's initiative to promote financial inclusion in rural Africa, lifting locals out of poverty

"The MasterCard Foundation Fund For Rural Prosperity Announces Winners Of 2015 Scaling Competition And Launches 2016 Competition

The MasterCard Foundation Fund for Rural Prosperity...[has] awarded five companies more than US$10.6 million to bolster their innovative work to alleviate poverty by increasing access to financial services for poor people in rural Africa. The five companies introduced imaginative thinking in their approach to scaling up financial inclusion – the increase in access to services such as mobile banking, savings accounts, insurance and credit – for the benefit of nearly eight million people in remote parts of Africa. The five firms that will receive more than US$10.6 million under the 2015 Fund for Rural Prosperity Scaling Competition are, APA Insurance Ltd, Finserve Africa Ltd./Equitel, M-KOPA LLC, Musoni Kenya Ltd [&] Olam Uganda Ltd...

“There were many impressive companies that entered this competition with proposals to scale up their work and make a real difference in the financial lives of people living in poverty,” said Ann Miles, Director of Financial Inclusion & Youth Livelihoods at The MasterCard Foundation. “These five, however, displayed an innovative approach backed by a solid business proposal and a commitment to excellence that convinced us to support their efforts.”...The majority of rural households in Africa remain financially excluded. As well, over 70 percent of families in Sub-Saharan Africa derive a large portion of their income from agricultural activities. Financial service providers meet several challenges in reaching this population. High costs of doing business, lack of staff know-how and inflexible business structures impede efforts to expand appropriate financial products and services that would enable rural poor people and smallholder farmers to become financially included. The MasterCard Foundation aims to support projects that have the potential to make a positive difference.