Celebrating 10 Years of the Scholars Program
Celebrating 10 Years of the Scholars Program
The Scholars Program celebrated 10 years in 2022. In 2012, the Mastercard Foundation launched the Program with nine university partners and the first cohort of 145 Scholars. Ten years later, the Scholars Program has reached over 40,000 young people through a Partner Network that now includes 40 higher education institutions and NGOs, more than 50 percent of which are African. The Scholars Program has become the largest scholarship initiative of its kind.
Watch a series of exciting virtual events and documentaries and immerse yourself in our annual summit all to celebrate what the Scholars Program has achieved and reflect on what we have learned together.
Baobab Summit 2022
The Baobab Summit 2022 was held in Kigali, Rwanda September 15th to 17th, 2022. It was the first time in two years that the Summit was held in person. For those unable to make the in-person event, we live-streamed two exciting sessions.
Experience Past Years’ Baobab Summits
Learn about our exciting lineup of past speakers, watch virtual sessions and see the highlights from the extraordinary three-day event.
Virtual Events
Through a series of virtual events, we welcomed current Scholars and Alumni to share their experiences as we honour their resilience, personal accomplishments & impact on their various communities. We also heard from the Scholars Program partners and affiliated institutions about what’s worked (and not worked!) to recruit and support talented young people from under-resourced communities over the last 10 years.
Virtual Event #1: Reflections on a Decade of Impact
Hosted by Scholar alum Elma Akob, speakers included two of our longstanding program partners Patrick Awuah, Ashesi University, and Martha Muhwezi, the Executive Director of FAWE. Rounding out this fireside chat was alumni Victorine Vondee and Hero-Godsway Zilevu who shared their journey of impact. Watch the full virtual event here>
Virtual Event #2: Catalyzing Impact in Our Communities
On the heels of our last event, “Reflections from the Last Decade,” this virtual event celebrated one of the key pillars of the Scholars Program; the Collective Impact of Our Community. We looked back on the impact the program has catalyzed within communities and discussed our renewed focus for the next 10 years. Learn more here >
Social Venture Challenge
Emerging social entrepreneurs compete to win the Resolution Social Venture Challenge (SVC) at the Baobab Summit. Selected from among 90 competitors, Scholars take part in a competition designed to recognize and celebrate young leaders committed to social change in Africa and beyond.
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