2017 ICT4D Conference

The private sector has unique capabilities in assessing market needs, driving innovation and implementing solutions to tackle the world’s most challenging issues. Mastercard has leveraged its core competencies in technology and data analytics to create sustainable partnerships and build scalable solutions to include and assist those most in need. Those efforts have so far empowered more than 2.5 million people with faster, safer and more efficient aid distribution, and brought more than 250 million people into the financial system.

But in the face of growing nationalism and the widening gap in development dollars, the private sector needs to seek new ways to apply its knowledge and assets to have a greater impact on societal problems. This session will explore how Mastercard is advancing the model for how civil society, governments, and the private sector can work together to accelerate economic growth and inclusion through industries like agriculture and healthcare, and improve the livelihoods of those at the base of the pyramid. We will present case studies such as:
• The recent launch of “2Kuze,” a mobile platform for smallholder farmers to buy, sell and receive payments for their goods that was developed by the Mastercard Labs for Financial Inclusion in Nairobi and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation;
• Mastercard’s partnership with Gilead Sciences to explore the use of the award-winning digital voucher solution Mastercard Aid Network to simplify the delivery of hepatitis C treatment in developing countries; and
• Mastercard’s work with NGOs and other non-profit agencies to deliver on its commitments to extend solutions to an additional 2 million aid recipients, advance “smart” refugee settlements in Kenya, and help aid agencies implement better data protection practices for refugees.