Mastercard Foundation and Youth Employment: Advancing Young Africa Works Across the Continent

The Mastercard Foundation is advancing one of the most ambitious youth employment agendas in the development space, positioning education and financial inclusion as central pillars for long-term prosperity across Africa.

At the core of its strategy is a clear thesis: youth employment is not only a social priority but an economic imperative. Through its Young Africa Works initiative, the Foundation aims to enable 30 million young people, particularly young women, to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030. This target reflects both the scale of Africa’s demographic transition and the urgency of aligning education systems with labour market realities.

Operating across key African cities including Accra, Kigali, Nairobi, Lagos, Kampala, Dakar, and Addis Ababa, alongside its headquarters in Toronto, the Foundation’s geographic footprint is designed to ensure both regional relevance and strategic coordination. This presence enables it to work closely with governments, institutions, and local organisations in shaping context-specific interventions.

The Foundation’s programme architecture is deliberately systems-focused. Rather than isolated interventions, it prioritises interconnected investments in entrepreneurship, workforce development, and institutional strengthening. This includes partnerships with tertiary and secondary education institutions to improve learning outcomes, as well as support for entrepreneurial ventures and youth-led organisations that are increasingly central to job creation across the continent.

A key component of its education strategy is the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program. The programme is structured to identify and support highly talented young people, equipping them with access to higher education alongside leadership development and community engagement opportunities. The objective is not only to improve employability but to cultivate a generation of leaders capable of driving transformation within their societies.

Beyond Africa, the Foundation’s work extends to Canada through the EleV Program. This initiative is focused on Indigenous youth, aiming to support 100,000 individuals through post-secondary education and into meaningful livelihoods. Its approach is grounded in partnership with Indigenous organisations and centred on Indigenous knowledge systems, rights, and self-determination, reflecting a commitment to inclusive and context-driven development.

Innovation remains a critical lever within the Foundation’s model. Through the Mastercard Foundation Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning, the organisation promotes the use of technology to expand access to quality education, particularly for underserved communities. This is complemented by a strong emphasis on research and knowledge generation, with learning briefs and reports designed to inform both programme delivery and broader policy discourse.

Importantly, the Foundation’s research approach elevates the voices of young people themselves. By centring lived experiences, particularly those of young women, persons with disabilities, refugees, and displaced populations, it strengthens the evidence base for more responsive and inclusive interventions.

The scale and structure of the Mastercard Foundation’s work signal a broader shift within the development ecosystem. There is increasing recognition that addressing youth unemployment requires long-term investment, institutional alignment, and sustained partnerships rather than short-term programme cycles.

For Africa, where the youth population continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, this approach carries significant implications. The challenge is no longer limited to job creation, but extends to building systems that can consistently deliver opportunity at scale.

The Mastercard Foundation’s model offers one pathway. It is not without complexity, but it reflects a deliberate attempt to move beyond fragmented interventions towards coordinated, impact-driven solutions.

As momentum builds, the real opportunity lies in how effectively these systems translate into tangible outcomes for young people across diverse contexts. When access to education, finance, and networks begins to align, the conditions for meaningful work become more attainable. What follows is not only improved livelihoods, but a more confident, capable generation positioned to shape the continent’s economic future on its own terms.

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