Mastercard Foundation Launches Endowment to Sustainably Support Education, Employment, and Entrepreneurship in African Food Systems

The Mastercard Foundation has launched a new endowment fund designed to provide long-term support for education, employment, and entrepreneurship within food systems across Africa. Created in partnership with the EARTH University Foundation in Canada, this mechanism notably includes provisions for 250 undergraduate scholarships and 200 master’s scholarships per decade, as well as funding for at least 200 student-led entrepreneurial projects.

A Strategic Partnership for Food Systems Leadership

Named the Mastercard Foundation Endowment for Food Systems Leadership, this fund extends a collaboration that has spanned more than a decade between the Mastercard Foundation and EARTH University, based in Costa Rica. The primary objective is to cultivate a new generation of professionals equipped to address the continent’s agricultural, food, and climate challenges while simultaneously fostering economic activities in their home countries.

The initiative is structured around three key pillars:

1. Access to Higher Education: This pillar focuses on providing 250 undergraduate scholarships and 200 master’s scholarships every decade under the Mastercard Foundation Scholarship Program.
2. Transition from Academia to Career: Aiming to bridge the gap between studies and professional life, this component will fund at least 500 post-university scholarships and support 200 student entrepreneurial projects over the same period.
3. South-South Cooperation: This axis involves developing programs to modernize agricultural education and strengthen the resilience of local food systems through cross-regional knowledge sharing.

Fostering Practical Entrepreneurship

A distinctive feature of this initiative is its approach to entrepreneurship. Beyond academic training, beneficiaries are expected to gain practical experience and develop economic activities linked to agriculture and the agri-food sector. This may include:

• Establishing agricultural farms.
• Creating food processing enterprises.
• Developing solutions that facilitate market access for smallholder producers.

Proven Impact and Future Ambitions

The existing partnership already offers a glimpse into the potential impact of this orientation. The Mastercard Foundation Scholarship Program at EARTH University has supported over 300 young people from Africa and Latin America, with 60% of them being women. Among African graduates, 73% secured their first professional position within six months of graduation. Furthermore, 86% report contributing to the development of agriculture, food systems, or sustainable development in Africa, primarily through the creation of farms and agri-food businesses.

However, the ambitions of this initiative extend beyond the direct scholarship recipients. By the end of 2030, the scholarship, career support, and online learning programs supported by the Mastercard Foundation at EARTH University are expected to reach more than 21,000 learners and young leaders in Africa and Latin America. It is important to note that this figure represents a cumulative target for these various programs and does not reflect the number of beneficiaries of the new endowment fund alone.