Mastercard’s Philanthropic Hub Hosts Summit On Financial Inclusion

Mastercard‘s philanthropic hub hosted its first Global Inclusive Growth Summit in Washington, D.C. on Monday (Oct. 21).

Along with The Aspen Institute, the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth brought together more than 500 people from dozens of sectors to explore financial inclusion. There, the company unveiled its Inclusive Growth Toolkit, a suite of tools focused on driving sustainable growth for the more than 37 million people living in the qualified opportunity zones (QOZ) throughout the country.

The toolkit will provide local leaders with data to help them create policy decisions, and steer investment dollars toward economic development initiatives. The Inclusive Growth Score is an interactive online map where users can view measures of inclusion and growth, then download a PDF Scorecard for any of the QOZs at census-tract level.

“To achieve better outputs, we need to ensure better inputs,” said Mike Froman, chairman of Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, in a press release. “At Mastercard, we’re working to build a digital economy that works for everyone everywhere. That requires us to apply the full range of our assets — from philanthropy and thought leadership to products, technology, data science and expertise. We are working hand in hand with community leaders in a collaborative effort to reimagine growth.”

In addition, Mastercard announced at the summit that it is partnering with The Rockefeller Foundation to award Benefits Data Trust (BDT) $7.5 million in grants, which will be used to help at least 5 million low-income people in the United States. Over the course of the five-year project, BDT will use digital products, machine learning, policy, research and new partnerships to streamline access to food, healthcare, housing and other essentials. The Rockefeller Foundation will provide a $5 million grant, while Mastercard will award $2.5 million.

“More than 38 million people in the United States live in poverty, and struggle to meet their most basic needs. Making it easier for them to tap essential benefits, such as food assistance and healthcare, is one of the most concrete and important ways to improve their economic security, health and mobility out of challenging circumstances,” said Trooper Sanders, CEO of BDT, in a press release. “We are thrilled to have the support of and be working with The Rockefeller Foundation and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth to scale our impact, and improve the lives of millions of people across the country.”

The summit also included an announcement that Mastercard and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are expanding a partnership to create new models and tools to financially include women, micro-entrepreneurs and smallholder farmers across the world. This move will grow Mastercard’s commitment to the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative (W-GDP), and launch new partnerships with both CARE USA and USAID’s Bureau for Food Security.