M-KOPA, Equitel, Musoni, APA Insurance and Olam Uganda Ltd are set to receive more than US$10.6 million under the 2015 Fund for Rural Prosperity Scaling Competition from the MasterCard Foundation Fund for Rural Prosperity.
The five companies have been awarded more than US$10.6 million to bolster their innovative work to alleviate poverty by increasing access to financial services for poor people in rural Africa.
Ann Miles, Director of Financial Inclusion & Youth Livelihoods at The MasterCard Foundation said, “These five displayed an innovative approach backed by a solid business proposal and a commitment to excellence that convinced us to support their efforts.”
The Fund for Rural Prosperity is managed by KPMG International Development Advisory Services, Africa. The 2016 competition will be open from April 14th to June 10th, 2016. Applications will be accepted from anywhere in the world but must be implemented in one or more of eight countries of focus in Africa (Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia).
Nick Hughes, Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder, M-KOPA, said that “M-KOPA Labs is delighted to be partnering with The MasterCard Foundation to explore new ways to deliver credit services to rural customers and farmers in Tanzania, many of whom live beyond the grid and without access to financial services. The project with The MasterCard Foundation will be aimed at helping more low income Tanzanians to access clean energy, agricultural inputs and financial services.”