The Mastercard Agribusiness Fund is designed to provide assistance to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) operating within the agriculture, climate adaptation, and digital economy fields across 20 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The primary goal of the Mastercard Foundation Agribusiness Fund is to stimulate enterprise expansion and facilitate the initiation, amplification, and endurance of dignified and meaningful employment opportunities for young individuals, both male and female.
This article offers a comprehensive overview of the specifics, eligibility criteria, advantages, and the application process for the Mastercard Agribusiness Fund.
Mastercard Agribusiness Challenge Fund Overview
- Host: Mastercard Foundation
- Category: Competitions | TrainingÂ
- Eligible Countries: 20 African Countries
- Reward: Training | $2.5m Business Fund
- No IELTS Required
- Deadline: November 22, 2024
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Mastercard Agribusiness Fund Details
Mastercard Agribusiness Fund for Resilience and Prosperity is the second phase of an eight-year program established in 2014 by the Mastercard Foundation. The first phase was the Mastercard Foundation Fund for Rural Prosperity,
The Mastercard Foundation Agribusiness Fund supported 38 participants from 15 countries in Africa innovating and scaling financial products and services targeting the rural population with a large focus on agriculture.
One major highlight is the Mastercard Foundation Agribusiness Fund enabled over 5.3 million people to have access to financial products and services, exceeding an initial target of 1 million.
As a result of this success and the learnings gathered, the Mastercard Foundation Fund for Resilience and Prosperity, a new, seven-year, US$ 126 million Fund was established in 2023.
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Requirements for Mastercard Agribusiness Fund
To be considered for the Mastercard Foundation Agribusiness Fund, your application has to meet the following criteria:
- Only for-profit, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises can apply
- Existing Mastercard Foundation partners are eligible to apply only if they are applying for a different project other than the one supported directly by the Mastercard Foundation.
- SMEs can apply in all three sector challenges with different applications per challenge
that meet the specific eligibility criteria. - All challenges will seek proposals from SMEs that are innovative, commercially viable, and that will create dignified and fulfilling work opportunities for young women and men, young people with disabilities or refugee youth.
- Selection will be based on applications meeting a certain threshold of the Fund selection criteria. Read more about this on the specific challenge page.
Benefits of Mastercard Agribusiness Fund
- It is estimated that the grant sizes will range from US$ 500,000 to US$ 2,500,000 depending on the size of SME and scaling potential.
- The Fund will provide support to SMEs through four interventions:
- Challenge Fund intervention: Offering direct financial support to selected SMEs.
- Technical Assistance intervention: Adding value beyond financial support through
technical assistance and capacity building. - Connect intervention: Providing investor readiness support to the portfolio of selected SMEs and negotiating partnerships with potential financiers.
- Convening and Influencing intervention: Convening relevant stakeholders to
encourage an enabling business environment that drives systematic change.
Eligible Countries for the Mastercard Agribusiness Fund
- The Fund’s objective is to support SMEs in 20 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. This will ensure a distribution of SME-based solutions that can sustainably create dignified and fulfilling work for young men and women, young people with disabilities and refugee youth even after the end of the program.
- The countries are Benin, Burundi, Botswana, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
How to Apply for Mastercard Agribusiness Fund (Step by Step)
Interested and qualified applicants should follow the procedures outlined below to commence their application;
- Click on the button below to visit the application page
- Potential applicants for the Challenge Fund intervention can register and access the application platform through the Fund website
- The Fund will accept applications in English only.
Deadline: November 22, 2024
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