Deadline: 28 March 2016
The MasterCard Foundation Fund for Rural Prosperity (FRP) is seeking proposals for its 2016 Innovation Competition. The competitions are destined for financial service providers such as banks, microfinance institutions, insurance companies and agribusinesses who may wish to apply for support.
The three principles guiding The MasterCard Foundation Fund for Rural Prosperity are:
- Impact: Projects should have a positive effect on the lives of rural poor people through job creation, income generation, and productivity gains and reduced vulnerability.
- Innovation: The Fund intends to harness the creativity and capacity of the financial sector and agribusinesses to innovate, increase access to and deliver financial services at scale.
- Sustainability: Projects supported under the Fund should state explicitly how they aim to achieve financial sustainability over time.
Eligible Countries
Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, DRC, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia.
Funding Size & Duration
Total Funds available over 3 years is US$15 million
- Min: US$250,000
- Max: US$1,000,000
Eligibility Criteria
- The MasterCard Foundation Fund for Rural Prosperity will only support ideas from institutions looking to deliver a financial service, product or process to rural poor people in an eligible African country (mentioned above).
- Projects may be proposed by a single institution or by a partnership of two or more of them. The proposal must be made by one company acting as the lead organization.
- Firms that apply should have an established and verifiable institutional track record. The Fund will only consider start-ups in exceptional circumstances where there is strong evidence that the new company has credible and experienced investors and management team.
- Firms that apply should have transparent ownership and governance structures.
- Examples of institutions that are eligible include:
- Banks;
- Non-bank financial institutions such as insurance or leasing companies;
- Agribusinesses that provide a financial service or that partner with a financial institution to deliver a financial service to their supply chain;
- Firms that use mobile or IT technology to support the delivery of financial services to rural poor people; and
- Firms that provide a non-financial service designed to facilitate increased access to financial services for financially excluded rural poor people. These firms may apply on their own as a lead applicant or may apply in partnership with a financial institution or agribusiness.
- Projects must demonstrate the potential to increase the provision of financial services to financially excluded poor people in rural areas of eligible countries.
How to Apply
Applicants must register and apply online for the competition via given website.
For more information, please visit Innovation Competition.