The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and Mastercard are partnering to boost digital access to at least 100 million individuals and businesses in Africa over the next 10 years.
The joint effort titled: ”Mobilising Access to the Digital Economy (MADE) Alliance”, will initially focus on supporting women and the agricultural sector.
This year, a pilot program will be launched to support three million farmers in Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania through local banks.
The banks will provide digital identities and access to high-quality seeds and agricultural grants.
It will expand to Ghana, Ethiopia and Uganda then to the rest of the continent.
“Mastercard’s work leading the new MADE Alliance: Africa aims to provide 100 million people greater digital access to critical services,” said Michael Miebach, CEO of Mastercard.
“Across Africa, people are driving new growth and opportunity, and Mastercard wants to support their success. This Alliance builds on the innovations and investments we are already making with partners in 45 countries to enhance Africa’s digital infrastructure and accelerate inclusive growth.”
The African Development Bank Group will invest $300 million to support Alliance programs, providing funding for digital infrastructure and incentivising ecosystem players to enhance digital access, and Mastercard will register 15 million users in Africa onto its Community Pass platform within five years, with interoperable digital infrastructure to facilitate involvement from a range of ecosystem participants.
Community Pass which was launched in 2020 as a social enterprise at Mastercard for digitising and connecting remote, underserved communities to governments, NGOs and the private sector.
“The African Development Bank Group believes that digitalisation via Mastercard Community Pass can play a vital role in increasing the adoption of agricultural technologies to help feed Africa, as well as improve incomes of millions of African smallholder farmers. Joining the Mobilising Access to the Digital Economy Alliance: Africa will amplify and multiply the impact of the Bank’s investments to build sustainable, climate-smart food systems across the continent. We applaud U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ commitment to financial and digital inclusion in Africa,” said African Development Bank Group President Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina.
An ecosystem of public and private sector partners is critical to enable more people to join the digital economy.
The Alliance matches partners’ complementary strengths in key locations to promote sustainable digital access. Together, the partners will deliver connectivity, skilling, employment and digital access to financial and other critical services.