Our Investment Philosophy and Principles
Access to dignified and fulfilling work is a priority for Africa’s economic growth. If the continent hopes to achieve its development agenda, innovative and proactive approaches to the creation of employment opportunities for young people—especially young women—are necessary.
To achieve its goals, the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund will contribute to addressing the structural gaps in the investment ecosystem and pioneer new approaches that address them. For example, the Fund will recruit and work with Investment Vehicles that are committed to advancing gender equity in entrepreneurship, and we will provide both capital investment and business development services (BDS) to alleviate concerns of risk and strengthen the Investment Vehicles and their portfolio of companies.
These supportive investments will lead to market discovery and market-building, resulting in a vibrant future and profitable investments in African ventures.
Our Strategies
To aid our work, the Africa Growth Fund applies these strategies:
- Prioritize local knowledge and expertise
- Apply a gender equality, diversity, and inclusion (GEDI) lens
- Account for power dynamics
- Develop partnerships based on shared values
- Strengthen financing capacity at all levels of the ecosystem
- Employ adaptive management with evidence-based choices
- Maintain system-level views so capital aligns with economic needs.
Our Goal
The Africa Growth Fund works through African Investment Vehicles to support growth-oriented small- and medium-sized enterprises across the continent with the goal of enabling dignified and fulfilling work for young people, particularly young women.
By providing financing for Investment Vehicles that show the most potential to create change, we will help portfolio companies grow at a faster rate and larger scale than would otherwise be possible.
Promoting a Gender Lens Perspective
One way that the Africa Growth Fund will achieve its goals is by moving promising companies further along the gender-equality spectrum.
We encourage the Investment Vehicles to consider gender-lens principles in both the selection and the continued mentoring of their portfolio companies. These principles include, for example, evaluating compensation and incentive structures, and developing alternatives where needed to correct traditional power dynamics that hinder women and youth.
