2016 Q3 Board Book (Staff)

The September 15-16th, 2016 Board Meeting, focused on the Foundation's commitment to its core mission through strategic program development and expansion, with a particular focus on the Scholars Program, and a continued emphasis on transformative leadership, transitions, and community building. The Foundation is also actively engaged in refining its approach to teacher quality, financial inclusion, and youth employment initiatives.

Key activities and initiatives during this period include:

1) The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program: The Scholars Program is a major focus, with efforts to deepen and refine its approach in the areas of transformative leadership, transitions, learning and program branding. The Foundation is taking a more central role in these areas. There is a focus on ensuring that Scholars are equipped to contribute to their communities. The program is focused on recruiting talented young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

2) Transformative Leadership: The Foundation has defined transformative leadership as engaging others, in an ethical manner, to generate positive and lasting change. They have developed training and a framework to support this concept, which is a key element of the Scholars Program. A budget of $3 million has been allocated to developing the curriculum and other related activities.

3) Transitions: The Foundation recognizes the importance of supporting Scholars in their transition to further education, employment, or entrepreneurship. There is a focus on providing country-specific support, particularly in Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, and Ethiopia. Key gaps in transitions support have been identified. A budget of $5 million has been allocated to support this area.

4) Community Building: The Foundation is developing the Baobab online platform to connect Scholars, and hosted summits in Ghana and Uganda to foster community and leadership skills. The platform is being developed with Scholar input.

5) Secondary Education Teacher Quality Initiative: A comprehensive plan for the Secondary Education Teacher Quality Initiative is under development, with an initial focus on Rwanda. A landscape mapping exercise is underway in Rwanda.

6) Financial Inclusion: The Foundation continues its work in financial inclusion with projects aimed at serving low-income populations in Africa. This includes projects focused on digital financial services, savings, and agricultural finance.

7) Youth Livelihoods: The Foundation supports youth livelihoods through training, skills development and opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship. This includes a focus on agriculture and other relevant sectors.

Overall, the Mastercard Foundation's activities in the third quarter of 2016 showcase a strategic and integrated approach to program development, with a strong emphasis on the Scholars Program, transformative leadership, and the importance of providing support for transitions, while continuing to address its other core areas of education, financial inclusion and youth livelihoods in Africa.