2023 Q3 Board Book (Staff)

The September 18-21st, 2023 Board Meeting demonstrated the Foundation's continued commitment to its core goals, particularly supporting young people in Africa and Indigenous youth in Canada through various programs. Key areas of focus include program implementation, strategic development, and strengthening partnerships, alongside an ongoing emphasis on impact measurement and learning.

Key activities and initiatives included:

1) Community Visits and Board Meetings: The Foundation held a series of community visits and board meetings, including a trip to the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre in Yukon. These meetings featured briefings and discussions with key stakeholders, including the President of Yukon University, Indigenous leaders, and guest speakers. A key theme of these meetings was Indigenous solutions to global challenges.

2) EleV Program Review: The Foundation undertook a review of its EleV program, which focuses on transforming education and employment systems for Indigenous youth. The program aims to align with the vision of Indigenous young people, support Indigenous community foundations, and use digital solutions to accelerate growth across sectors. As of July 2023, EleV has helped more than 16,000 Indigenous youth gain skills for jobs or further study. The review included presentations on the program's performance and impact.

3) Indigenous Partnerships and Initiatives: The Foundation is actively working with Indigenous communities and organizations. This includes partnerships with the Assembly of First Nations Yukon, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, and various Indigenous-led organizations. These partnerships focus on areas such as education, economic development, clean energy, and digital access. There is a focus on Indigenous knowledge and leadership in addressing issues like climate change.

4) Young Africa Works Strategy and Review: A key focus is the Young Africa Works strategy, designed to enable 30 million young people in Africa to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030. The Foundation is reviewing this strategy to assess its progress, identify successful approaches, and set priorities for 2024-2026. The review process involved consulting with stakeholders, analyzing data, and identifying key trends and priorities.

5) Agrifood Systems Strategy: The Foundation is focusing on agro-industrialization to increase work opportunities for young people in agrifood systems. The strategy prioritizes sustainable and cost-effective food production, increased food processing and value addition, and strengthened local and regional markets, with a focus on empowering key institutions. The Foundation aims to learn from successful models, such as in Chile and Ethiopia, to accelerate agro-industrialization in Africa.

6) Health Workforce Framework: The Foundation has developed a Health Workforce Framework focused on developing a skilled, young workforce in primary health care. The framework emphasizes three pillars: community health workers, health entrepreneurship, and digital jobs for youth in health. The aim is to make primary health care an attractive path for young people and ensure they have access to dignified and fulfilling work.

7) Saving Lives and Livelihoods (SLL) Initiative: The SLL initiative continues to be a major undertaking, focusing on vaccine equity and long-term health security in Africa. The initiative involves distributing vaccine doses, strengthening health systems, and preparing for future pandemics. It has also led to positive changes in how the international community engages with African institutions in health. The SLL approach is considered a model for collaboration and partnership. The Foundation is working with Africa CDC and other partners to achieve these objectives.

8) Foundation Performance and Goals: The Foundation is aiming to be recognized as a thought leader and convenor. Goals for 2023 include documenting the Foundation's influence, convening critical discussions, and consolidating the "Mastercard Foundation Way". There is an emphasis on external feedback, documentation of policy and thought leadership, and a focus on promoting dignified and fulfilling work. The Foundation is also focused on improving its internal culture with an emphasis on accountability, performance management and career management.

9) Risk Management: The Foundation is enhancing its Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Framework to improve strategic decision-making. This includes defining risk appetite statements at the enterprise and risk category levels, and implementing a risk dashboard to aid in decision-making. There is recognition of the increasing complexity of the Foundation's work, and the need to assess risk at all levels.

10) Rwanda Baseline Study: A baseline study in Rwanda shows that Foundation-supported youth are making significant progress towards, or have already achieved, dignified and fulfilling work at a higher rate than the general youth population. However, the study also highlights demographic disparities, with female and rural youth, and those with lower education experiencing lower access to dignified work. The study examined areas such as youth-in-work, program coverage, quality of life and enterprise growth.

11) Financial Overview: The Foundation's financial position includes total commitments of $10.2 billion and disbursements of $5.9 billion to date. The approved program envelopes are broken down by country, human capital development, Pan-African programs, EleV and pre-Young Africa Works. The projections include a total DQ requirement of $13.9 billion from 2024-2030.

These activities highlight the Foundation's commitment to its core mission and its focus on creating opportunities for young people through a variety of programs and initiatives. The emphasis on collaboration, data-driven decision-making, and adapting to local contexts is evident across its various activities.