Grace Ashiru
Mastercard, a US company that makes payment systems, will work with the US Agency for International Development Finance (DFC) on a funding project for digitization and financial inclusion in Africa.
The agreement was reached on the eve of the United States-Africa Leaders Summit, which took place in Washington from Tuesday, December 13 to Thursday, December 15.
DFC will help invest up to $50 million in groups that are part of the Community Pass network. This network helps rural areas of India, Kenya, Mauritania, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda with digital connectivity, smartphone use, and ID systems.
DFC was set up in 2020 to help businesses expand into new markets, boost growth, and improve people’s lives in developing countries, among other things. The organization makes equity investments, loans, guarantees, insurance, technical help, and research in the energy, health, infrastructure, and technology industries.
Mastercard wants to get 15 million African and 30 million users worldwide by 2027. They plan to add more financial institutions and service providers to the Community Pass network.
This partnership between DFC and Mastercard will make it easier for people in underserved areas to get to key services. The overall goal is to make the digital economy more inclusive and sustainable for everyone.
“Our work with DFC shows that when public money is combined with technology and knowledge from the private sector, the result is greater than the sum of its parts,” said Tara Nathan, the Executive Vice President of Mastercard’s relief and development division.
