Content from our Premium Partner
Mastercard Foundation (Africa)
Toronto, ON — Mastercard
Foundation Scholars to receive seed funding and mentorship to establish
impactful social enterprises in their communities
Thirteen teams of a
total of 25 emerging African social entrepreneurs have been selected as
winners of the 2020 Resolution Social Venture Challenge
. Thirty-eight
teams of Mastercard Foundation Scholars gathered virtually to compete in
the multi-step competition that identifies promising young leaders with
bold ideas for change. Winners of the Resolution Social Venture
Challenge are provided seed funding, mentorship, and access to a network
of global change-makers. Now in its fifth year, this collaboration
between the Mastercard Foundation and The Resolution Project provides a pathway to action for socially responsible young leaders who want to make a difference in their communities.
“Africa’s young
leaders are brimming with talent, energy, and a deep desire to solve
local challenges that will have a positive impact on their communities.
Yet few young people receive the support and tools they need to
undertake a project in their community,” explains Ashley Collier, Lead
of North American Partner Network with the Mastercard Foundation
Scholars Program. “The Social Venture Challenge equips young leaders
with the skills and capital they need to ensure their venture is
successful, and to maximize their impact.”
In the five years
that The Resolution Project has partnered with the Mastercard
Foundation, over 100 Mastercard Foundation Scholars have become
Resolution Fellows, unlocking $250,000 in micro-grants for social
enterprises. These Fellows have implemented social ventures which have
positively impacted 17,208 people, including 2,361 women and girls
impacted by empowerment initiatives and 770 people benefitting from
skills-based training. Additionally, Fellows have hired 132 paid
employees and supported 390 people to generate a sustainable income
through self-employment.
Winning projects
address a wide range of issues Scholars have observed first-hand in
their communities and come from across the continent, including Somalia,
Ghana, Zambia, Malawi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.
What the Winners of the 2020 Social Venture Challenge said:
“Winning the 2020
Resolution Social Venture Challenge (SVC) means resilience to us because
we never gave up when our team did not win in 2019,” says Maame Efua
Essel, a Mastercard Foundation Scholar at the University of Cape Coast
and a co-founder of Impart Reading. It means hope for the basic school
students in the rural areas of Ghana who do not have library facilities
and provides
employment to the unemployed. It means one child will get a quality
education to become a changemaker one day. Thanks to the SVC for giving
Impart Reading the financial, mentorship, and technical support. Today,
Impart Reading is one step towards reducing school dropouts, teenage
pregnancy, social vices as well as improving education and youth
development in Ghana as a whole."
“Winning the 2020
Resolution Social Venture Challenge means a lot to my team because it’s a
validation of our idea and pushes us closer to accomplishing our dream
of impacting the lives of refugees,” said Safali Libia, a Mastercard
Foundation Scholar at Makerere University and a founding member of the A
Hand for a Refuge Project. “By becoming a Resolution Fellow, my team
will have the opportunity to be funded, mentored, and given access to a
network of likeminded people who are passionate about creating change in
Africa. Together with The Resolution Project, A Hand for a Refugee will
accomplish its vision of creating a brighter future with equal
opportunities for our refugee communities.”
“The Mastercard
Foundation Scholars Program continues to spotlight young African talent
and leadership that is ready to ignite the continent with innovation and
positive change,” said George M. Tsiatis, CEO & Co-Founder of The
Resolution Project. We are grateful to work with such inspiring
individuals and have them as part of Resolution’s community, and we are
grateful to the Foundation for its continued support of this
collaboration!”
Congratulations to the 2020 Social Venture Challenge Winners:
A Hand for a Refugee: Safali Libia, Kataike Viola, and Kevin Wanai at Makerere University in Uganda
A Hand For a
Refugee aims to raise refugee welfare and ensure sustainable support for
education among refugee teenagers in the Kyangwali refugee community by
providing training for passionfruit farming, a market for the fruit
they grow, and financial literacy training along with savings and credit
support.
Agricare: Edem Fie, Dorothy Napor, and Etornam Tsyawo at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana
Agricare will
provide farmers with technical agricultural training and mentorship to
help them improve and preserve their crop yields. Edem, Dorothy, and
Etornam are committed to empowering and connecting ginger farmers in the
Buem District of Ghana’s Oti Region.
AgriDesert: Mohamed Jama at EARTH University in Costa Rica
AgriDesert is
working to improve agricultural outcomes in the arid semi desert region
of Somaliland. The project will construct a greenhouse using local
materials and create a demonstration farm to grow tomatoes thereby
introducing agriculture to a community that traditionally relies on
livestock.
Fastmere: Ndagire Maria at EARTH University in Costa Rica
Fastmere is a
social enterprise that uses an online platform to help smallholder
farmers in Kampala, Uganda sell their produce at more profitable prices.
Fastmere also seeks to connect farmers to large scale customers like
restaurants and hotels, and help customers buy fresh produce at
affordable prices without visiting crowded marketplaces.
Fona Health Initiative: Samson Idabu at the University of Cape Town in South Africa
Fona Health
Initiative is a community education project based in Tanzania that
trains vulnerable youth and rural communities about nutritional
education and nutritional supplements. It also provides them with the
tools and knowledge to produce a pumpkin seed and chickpea supplement.
Holistic
Organization: Annelle Kayisire, Crepin Kayisire, and Kevin Kayisire at
Wellesley College in the US and the African Leadership University in
Mauritius
Holistic
Organization is providing out-of-school teen mothers and children from
Nyamata in Rwanda’s Eastern province with the intensive vocational,
psychological, and social tools they need to be successful.
Impart Reading: Maame Essel and Dorcas Kwofie at University of Cape Coast in Ghana
Impart Reading will
provide access to books, both through mobile and brick and mortar
libraries, to encourage reading, English comprehension, and to improve
literacy in Cape Coast, Ghana.
ISOKOFARM: Kevin Gansa and Lawali Ghislain at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon
Operating out of
Kigali, Rwanda, ISOKOFARM is a mobile app startup that allows the
exchange of relevant information between farmers and marketers. This
platform aims to address the shortcomings of inefficient and unreliable
physical markets.
Kibera Canaan Library and Youth Empowerment Centre: Grace Bako and Doris Mwangi at the University of Cape Town in South Africa
Kibera-Caanan
Library and Youth Empowerment Centre aims to provide free access to
books, mentorship, and technical skills training for youth in Kibera,
Kenya to improve literacy and create job opportunities.
Kwabeng
Robotics and Mentorship Hub: Ofori Richard and Yamoah Veronica at the
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana
The Kwabeng
Robotics and Mentorship Hub seeks to ignite the desire of students to
pursue STEM majors at the tertiary level, slow school dropout rates and
improve academic performance.
Laboratory Rats: Miracle Ainembabazi and Ashaba Annah at Makerere University in Uganda
The venture aims to
train women in Kamuganguzi sub-county, Kabale district, South Western
Uganda to rear laboratory rats, sell them, and earn income. The
initiative also seeks to improve the quality of scientific research
results.
Project Ignite Her: Lauryn Mwale at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland
Project Ignite Her
is a social enterprise designed to close the gender STEM gap. It will be
a curated online platform and a community fostering the holistic
development of young women on their journey to success. The team will
provide advice, support, and mentorship to allow young women to thrive
academically and professionally in the field in which black women are
deeply underrepresented.
Small Holder Farmer Innovations: Kondwani Kamsikiri and Godwelll Manda at EARTH University in Costa Rica
Small Holder Farmer
Innovations is dedicated to increasing agricultural production amongst
the smallholder farmers of Malawi. The venture seeks to introduce,
produce, and distribute leading carbon-based organo-mineral fertilizers
to minimize production costs and improve soil health.
ABOUT THE MASTERCARD FOUNDATION
The Mastercard
Foundation works with visionary organizations to enable young people in
Africa and Indigenous communities in Canada to access dignified and
fulfilling work. It is one of the largest, private foundations in the
world with a mission to advance learning and promote financial inclusion
to create an inclusive and equitable world. The Foundation was created
by Mastercard in 2006 as an independent organization with its own Board
of Directors and management. For more information on the Foundation,
please visit: www.mastercardfdn.org. Follow the Foundation @MastercardFdn on Twitter (#MCFScholars).
ABOUT THE RESOLUTION PROJECT
The Resolution
Project is a unique pathway to action for aspiring young leaders
committed to changing the world. Founded in 2007, Resolution identifies,
equips, and empowers promising young leaders with the support, skills,
and funding they need to make a positive impact today. Resolution
discovers young social entrepreneurs through Social Venture Challenges
held at undergraduate youth conferences around the world, such as the
Youth Assembly at the United Nations, the Clinton Global Initiative
University, and others. Resolution enables the winners of its
competitions to make a positive impact through Resolution Fellowships,
which include dynamic, hands-on support, mentorship, and grants to
implement their social ventures. Over 520 Resolution Fellows, in 80
countries on all six inhabited continents (including all across the
United States) are working on over 320 social ventures in high-impact
fields such as water, food, sustainable development, education, energy
and the environment, equality and empowerment, health and wellness, and
humanitarian relief. Their efforts have benefitted 2.7 million people
and counting. Supporting our Fellows are over 500 volunteers, a
dedicated staff, and dozens of partners from the public and private
sectors. Together, we are building a generation of leaders with a
commitment to social responsibility www.resolutionproject.org
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