MasterCard Foundation commits to university partnership

3 Dec 2014

The MasterCard Foundation, as announced at the Talloires Network Leaders Conference this morning, is committing $86.6 million to work in collaboration with four new African university partners to educate talented yet economically disadvantaged learners through its Scholars Program. This means that over 2,300 university students will be able to hit the books in classrooms in Uganda, South Africa and Ghana by early next year.

MasterCard Foundation commits to university partnership

Mastercardfdn.org

These institutions join the global network of 21 partners in the Scholars Program, including Ashesi University College in Ghana, the first African university to partner with the Foundation in 2012.

The new partnerships include:

Makerere University, Uganda
University of Pretoria (UP), South Africa
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana
University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa

This collaboration builds on the Foundation's growing network of global education partners who are committed to educating Africa's young leaders who will use their knowledge and skills to lead change in their communities and contribute to meaningful transformation across the continent. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, the University of Pretoria and Makerere University have already opened their doors to their first cohorts of MasterCard Foundation Scholars, while the University of Cape Town is expected to welcome its first cohort in January 2015.

"The MasterCard Foundation is excited to have these four new partners joining the program," said Reeta Roy, President and CEO of The MasterCard Foundation. "These universities are aligned with the Foundation's vision of developing Africa's next-generation leaders who will apply their ingenuity and empathy to drive progress in their communities and countries."

These African universities are part of a global initiative. The MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program is a 10-year, $500 million programme that hopes to inspire young people to lead change through education. Scholars receive holistic financial, social, academic and leadership development support to create pathways for them to transition to jobs, entrepreneurial - more activities or further education. By the end of the program, about 75% of the scholars will be girls and young women. The program is significant at a time when global investments in education have dropped by 10% over the last two years, putting the achievement of existing and future education goals at risk - particularly for young women and girls.

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