Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program

Jacob Deng Bol Deng is an EARTH University student and supports youth in rural areas, refugee camps, remote locations, and vulnerable communities in Africa.

Check out the inaugural edition of “Changemakers: The Alumni Journey,” a Mastercard Foundation Scholar Alumni Publication in partnership with the Baobab Platform.

Ipti grew up in North Kaneshie, a suburb of Accra, Ghana’s capital, where she experienced the value of community. She had no aspirations to study outside Ghana until she completed high school and was selected for the Zawadi Africa Education Fund Program.

In the dynamic landscape of social impact and leadership, Lincoln Olatunji, a first year BA in International Relations student and Mastercard Foundation Scholar at USIU-Africa, emerges as a catalyst for change, particularly in rewriting the narrative of people with disabilities in Africa.

Thirteen Mastercard Foundation Scholars at USIU-Africa have been selected as winners of the 2023 Social Venture Challenge that the Mastercard Foundation recently hosted as part of the annual Baobab Summit, held at the Windsor Hotel in Nairobi.

Sciences Po has committed to supporting 1,450 students from Sub-Saharan Africa over the next 10 years through the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program. With the same ambition of breaking down barriers to quality education, the partnership between the Mastercard Foundation and Sciences Po will enable young people from Africa to use their skills to secure dignified and fulfilling work.

Apply now: Jim Leech Mastercard Foundation Fellowship, Deadline December 4, 2023

And read about Ritah Mbabazi, a recipient of the fellowship, and her incredible journey.

In the documentary film “The Spirit of Kanju: Leaders Transforming Africa”, 19 Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Alumni interrogated the concept of transformative leadership and documented the contributions of people they believed exemplified the leadership Africa needs.

The University of Cape Town (UCT) and the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program are celebrating a decade of excellence. As a reflection on the last ten years of partnership, the following report captures the achievements and transformative journeys of some Mastercard Foundation Scholars.

The Mastercard Foundation is proud to introduce the Africa Higher Education Health Collaborative (AHEHC), a pioneering initiative aimed at strengthening primary healthcare across Africa and empowering the continent’s health sector through transformative education and innovation.

The Baobab Summit is a gathering of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, where our Scholars, Alumni and partners come together to connect, co-create, share, learn and reflect.

The Mastercard Foundation and the University of the Western Cape will collaborate to provide 500 talented and service-oriented young Africans with fully-funded higher learning and leadership development opportunities over the next seven years.

What happens when you bring together 35 young people from Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program partner institutions across the world, seven Foundation staff and other partners on  United States International University-Africa’s beautiful Nairobi campus? Lots of learning, deep conversations, laughter and fun.

Ashesi University Foundation Canada has received an endowment to establish the “Mastercard Foundation Endowment for Educational Excellence,” which will enable world-class, inclusive higher education in Africa while driving innovation and entrepreneurship on the continent.

In 2022, the Scholars Program turned 10. To celebrate a decade of transformative impact and learning, we hosted a series of virtual events, social conversations, documentaries and our annual summit. Together we reflected on what we have learned and looked to the next 10 years to develop Africa’s youth leaders.

The Mastercard Foundation celebrates the decennial anniversary of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program. Launched in 2012, the Program began as a $500 million initiative to develop the next generation of leaders who would drive social and economic transformation.

Mastercard Foundation Scholars have a deep personal commitment to changing the world around them and improving the lives of their families, communities, and countries.

Find out how Derrick Tumuhairwe and Jovia Nazziwa are breaking taboos and paving the way for a healthier future in Uganda.

Scholars are creating positive change in their communities through social ventures.

Find out how the initiative will deliver high-quality and inclusive online learning.

Mastercard Foundation Scholars express their ideas for change.

Our International Women’s Day series highlights stories from Mastercard Foundation Scholars about how gender has shaped their leadership.