Wednesday, January 21, 2015
MasterCard Foundation Launches $50 Million Fund to Help Smallholder Farmers in Africa
The MasterCard Foundation today launched a $50 million challenge fund to improve the lives of smallholder farmers in Africa by enabling businesses to begin or expand financial services in rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa.
"Over the last decade, many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have enjoyed substantial economic growth but much of this growth has not benefitted the rural poor, especially smallholder farmers who are mostly women and who depend on subsistence agriculture for their livelihoods," said Reeta Roy, President and CEO of The MasterCard Foundation. "This new Fund will stimulate private sector organizations to provide affordable and accessible savings, credit and insurance products. These services are essential to enable African farmers to increase productivity and incomes and, ultimately, grow rural economies...."