The Strive Community Innovation Fund aims to spark new ideas for catalyzing small businesses' resilience and growth, at scale. We are seeking truly innovative solutions that can be transformative for these small enterprises which are the backbone of our economies.
About MasterCard Foundation
The Mastercard Foundation seeks a world where everyone has the opportunity to learn and prosper. All people, no matter where their starting point in life, should have an equal chance to succeed. We believe that with access to education, financial services, and skills training, people can have that chance. Our focus is helping economically disadvantaged young people in Africa to find opportunities to move themselves, their families, and their communities out of poverty to a better life.... read more... continue reading
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Strive Community Innovation Fund
Aim and Benefits of Strive Community Innovation Fund
The fund makes available up to $1m for digital and data first solutions that enable small businesses with fewer than 10 employees to digitize their operations, better use financial services, or participate more effectively in digital marketplaces. Successful applicants will each receive up to $200,000 to develop and test their innovation over a 12 - 18 month period.
Requirements for Strive Community Innovation Fund Qualification
Project eligibility: Proposed projects must:
- Leverage digital and data first solutions
- Have potential for measurable positive impact on small business growth
- Propose implementation outside of the US and Canada
Organizational eligibility: Applicants can be:
- Single organizations or a consortia of multiple organizations
- Non-profits, social enterprises, start-ups, and others
- Companies or multinational corporations (subject to matched funding requirements)
Applicants must:
- Be a registered and operating entity with active users, with a proven track record of legal and ethical operations and good work performance for at least 2 years
- Be fully compliant with business licensing, taxation, employee and other relevant regulations in all countries of operation
- Be compliant with all applicable laws including adhering to fundamental human rights and all international labour standards
- Be able to prove financial health with adequate financial systems to report regularly to Strive Community
- Have adequate internal human resource capability to implement the proposed project and comply with Strive Community’s reporting requirements
- Not be engaged in unethical activities such as arms production or tobacco
Interview date, Process and Venue for Strive Community Innovation Fund
We will use 4 simple criteria to select proposals:
1. Significance & impact
- Does the project address at least one of Strive Community’s three pillars for supporting small business: digitizing operations, using financial services and participating in digital markets?
- What impact could be achieved if the project is successful?
- Is there alignment with Strive Community focus areas of supporting businesses with fewer than 10 employees with digital and data first solutions?
.2. Applicability & transferability
- Will the project inspire others to similarly innovate on supporting small business?
- Can other organizations benefit from the learnings and insights generated in this project?
- Can the solution or insights be applied, adapted, or transferred broadly?
3. Feasibility & sustainability
- Does the articulated plan seem suitable for reaching the desired outcome?
- Does the requested budget seem reasonable for the project proposed?
- Does the project center on a solution that has financial viability at scale?
4. Additionality
- Would the innovative solution or insights be realized without this funding?
- Would the project be implemented in an improved way with this grant?
- Is Strive Community inspiring something truly innovative by de-risking it for the awardee?
Application Deadline
December 17, 2021
How to Apply
Interested and qualified? Go to
MasterCard Foundation on strive.grantplatform.com to apply
For more details, visit Mastercard website.
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