Mastercard partners with the African Development Bank Group

Initially, the Alliance will concentrate on supporting the agricultural sector and women. This year, a pilot programme will start to aid three million farmers in Kenya, Tanzania, and Nigeria by collaborating with local banks to offer digital identities and access to quality seeds and agricultural inputs. The initiative plans to extend its reach to Uganda, Ethiopia, Ghana, and other African nations. 

Mastercard's objective through the MADE Alliance: Africa is to improve digital access to critical services for 100 million people. The company is working with partners in 45 countries to enhance Africa’s digital infrastructure and foster inclusive growth. As co-chair of the initiative, the African Development Bank Group will invest USD 300 million in Alliance programmes to support digital infrastructure and encourage ecosystem actors to enhance digital access. Meanwhile, Mastercard aims to register 15 million users in Africa on its Community Pass platform within five years. Launched in 2020, Community Pass is a social enterprise by Mastercard that connects remote, underserved communities to various sectors for access to critical services. 

The African Development Bank Group views the digitalisation effort through Mastercard's Community Pass as vital for increasing agricultural technology adoption, improving incomes for smallholder farmers, and supporting sustainable, climate-smart food systems across Africa.

Bringing in other organisations 

The Alliance will leverage partners' strengths to promote sustainable digital access, providing connectivity, skills development, employment, and access to financial and other critical services. Several organisations have committed to the MADE Alliance: Africa, including Equity Bank, Microsoft, Heifer International, Unconnected.org, and Syngenta Foundation. The African Development Bank Group and Mastercard will initially co-chair the initiative. 

The MADE Alliance: Africa will support the US Digital Transformation with Africa Initiative (DTA) and the African Union’s Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa (DTS). This initiative aligns with other business objectives for Africa, such as a memorandum of agreement with the International Trade Administration to enhance digital access and inclusion in Africa, supporting the US Government’s Digital Transformation with Africa initiative and MADE Alliance: Africa. 

Additionally, EdTech Africa, a partnership involving the Government of Kenya, Kenyan President Ruto, and the US, builds on Mastercard’s investments with the Atlanta University Consortium Data Science Initiative and Howard University’s Center for Applied Data Science & Analytics Initiative. 

Another significant partnership involves Mastercard Community Pass, Co-operative Bank of Kenya, Shell Foundation, and the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. This collaboration aims to provide smallholder farmers with access to a digital marketplace and affordable credit for clean energy tools like solar-powered irrigation pumps. This effort is part of Mastercard’s involvement with USAID initiatives, including the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE) and the Women in the Digital Economy Fund (WiDEF).