The Mastercard Foundation is ex­panding its long-standing part­nerships with the Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) and the Forum for African Women Education­alists (FAWE) to support over 70,400 young women and girls facing the most significant financial and social barriers to education and building a livelihood.

These initiatives are expected to benefit 3.3 million young women and men.

The Mastercard Foundation will support young women in their pathways through education, entrepreneurship or entering the world of work with an additional $360 million investment over the next seven years.

The investment to CAMFED over the next six years will support the transition of 62,000 girls in Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ghana, and Malawi into secondary and tertiary education, employment, and entrepreneurship while partnering to improve education systems for millions of young people.

The extended seven-year FAWE and Mastercard Foundation partnership will bolster access to tertiary education, post-secondary technical vocational and educational training (TVET), and job opportunities for over 10,500 young people, primarily in Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Ethiopia, Malawi, Ghana, Liberia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Senegal.

The programme includes bursaries for participants starting new businesses or innovating within existing businesses.

The expanded partnership will increase the number of post-secondary school programmes supported by FAWE to over 500 accredited tertiary institutions in Africa, benefiting an estimated 1.2 million young women.

“We’re incredibly proud to deepen our collaboration with CAMFED and FAWE, building on years of shared commitment to supporting girls across Africa to complete their education and gain the skills they need to become transformative changemakers within their communities,” said Tina Muparadzi, Executive Director of Education & Transitions at the Mastercard Foundation.

“Currently contributing just 11 percent of Africa’s GDP, the continent’s young women have huge potential to drive its economic transition.

“We believe this partnership will be pivotal in establishing the inclusive and equitable environment required to fully unlock this opportunity, enabling the most vulnerable and underserved girls in society to thrive.”

This partnership expands more than a decade of collaboration between the Mastercard Foundation and CAMFED, which have worked together to improve access to secondary and higher education for over 35,000 young women facing the highest financial and social barriers. It has also created opportunities for a further 35,000 young women to access dignified and fulfilling work.

Angeline Murimirwa, CEO, CAMFED, while reflecting on this continued partnership, said, “CAMFED is thrilled to embark on the next phase of our long-standing collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation.

“This investment supercharges our am­bitious vision for 2030 as we support millions more girls in rural Africa to thrive in secondary school, graduate into secure livelihoods and leadership, and in turn, mentor and support the next generation, multiplying partner investment. With the commitment of every member of our global movement, we can transform education systems and economies across Africa, driving progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.”

The Foundation launched its partnership with FAWE in 2013 as part of the Master­card Foundation Scholars Programme.

The partnership was established to provide 1,200 secondary education scholarships for girls in Rwanda and 600 girls in Ethiopia. Since then, over 70 percent of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars have transitioned into tertiary education, and 300 enterprises have been established through the Master­card Foundation Scholars Entrepreneur­ship Fund.

Martha Muhwezi, Executive Director of FAWE Africa, underscored the importance of continuing this work: “This collaboration reaffirms FAWE’s shared vision with the Foundation’s Young African Works strategy and the Africa Union strategy for employment of the youth.

“We are particularly thrilled to see this program expand from three countries to 10, a clear testament of its impact and potential. We are confident, with support from partners such as the Foundation, we will scale to reach all our 34 chapters across Africa. Education, skills development, and leadership will remain our priority to prepare the current generation to lead, innovate, and drive positive change across the continent.”

These partnerships with CAMFED and FAWE will significantly accelerate the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy, which aims to enable 30 million young Africans, especially girls, to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030.