The MasterCard Foundation Fund for Rural Prosperity Announces Winners of 2015 Scaling Competition and Launches 2016 Competition
Five companies receive more than US$10.6 million to increase financial inclusion for nearly eight million poor people in rural Africa
ACCRA, GHANA, April 27, 2016- The MasterCard Foundation Fund for Rural Prosperity today 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 Fund for Rural Prosperity also announced the opening of its 2016 Scaling Competition, a search for other companies that are working to broaden and deepen financial inclusion at scale in rural 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.
- Innovation: In 2015, a total of US$15 million was made available to support new financial products as well as savings groups, micro-insurance and other inclusive finance systems for the rural poor. Nearly US$7 million was awarded in the first Innovation Competition last year.
- Scaling: In 2015, a total of US$35 million was made available to provide financial support for promising ideas that expand services and improve financial inclusion for smallholder farmers. Initial awards totalling more than US$10.6 are being made today in the first Scaling Competition.
ABOUT THE MASTERCARD FOUNDATION The MasterCard Foundation works with visionary organizations to provide greater access to education, skills training and financial services for people living in poverty, primarily in Africa. As one of the largest, independent foundations, its work is guided by its mission to advance learning and promote financial inclusion to alleviate poverty. Based in Toronto, Canada, its independence was established by MasterCard when the Foundation was created in 2006. For more information and to sign up for the Foundation's newsletter please visit www.mastercardfdn.org. Follow the Foundation at @MCFoundation on Twitter. ABOUT KPMG KPMG is a global network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax and Advisory services. We have more than 155,000 outstanding professionals working together to deliver value in 155 countries worldwide. KPMG's International Development Advisory Services, Africa ("KPMG IDAS"), is an Africa-wide department hosted by the KPMG Kenya member firm and is a global Centre of Excellence for development work on the continent. We have adopted a pan-African approach to development, employing full-time development experts complemented by a network of specialized consultants across Africa. KPMG IDAS is currently implementing some of the largest, most exciting and innovative development programmes in Africa for a variety of public and private sector clients. For more information, please visit: www.kpmg.com/das For more information, please contact: Jemima Gathumi-Mungoma
Operations Manager
The MasterCard Foundation Fund for Rural Prosperity
+254 (0)709576382
jmungoma@frp.org Roger Morier
Senior Manager
Communications
The MasterCard Foundation
+1-647-837-5290
rmorier@mastercardfdn.org