The new partnership will help drive inclusive access to high-quality learning across Africa, drive innovation in higher education, and support youth entrepreneurship.
Ashesi University Foundation Canada has received an endowment to establish the “Mastercard Foundation Endowment for Educational Excellence,” which will enable world-class, inclusive higher education in Africa while driving innovation and entrepreneurship on the continent.
The endowment will implement key programs and initiatives at Ashesi University in Ghana. Specifically, the new endowment with Ashesi University Foundation Canada will:
- Enable the continuity of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Ashesi University in Ghana, supporting 1,500 new Scholars at Ashesi each decade into perpetuity.
- Deepen the work of an Ashesi University-led Education Collaborative, which will bring universities together to transform learning outcomes for at least 1 million students by 2030.
- Provide 400 students and alumni from Ashesi University with the funding to start or grow businesses in Africa each decade into perpetuity.
The partnership with the Ashesi University Foundation Canada builds on a decade of work between the Ashesi Community and the Mastercard Foundation. This collaboration began under the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program — an education and leadership development initiative that supports talented young people, primarily in Africa, who face economic and social barriers to learning but share a deep commitment to service. Ashesi University was among the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program’s nine pioneering partners and the first African University partner in a network where more than 50 percent of higher education partners are now African universities.
The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program has reached over 40,000 young people since its inception, over 75 percent of whom are young women. More than 600 of these Scholars enrolled at Ashesi University, of whom 375 have graduated. Over the last decade, as part of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program’s work, Ashesi University has trained nearly 1,000 high school students in Robotics, Engineering, Entrepreneurship, and the Creative Arts through the Ashesi Innovation Experience and supported the creation of 400 youth-led businesses. This new partnership with Ashesi University Foundation Canada comes as Ashesi University marks its 20th anniversary and the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program celebrates a decade of transformative impact and learning.
“This partnership is a significant force multiplier for Ashesi’s work in higher education,” said Ashesi University Foundation Canada Board Chairman and Founder and President of Ashesi University, Patrick Awuah. “It permits us to advance boldly into Ashesi’s third decade, for which we have ambitious goals to transform learning outcomes for thousands of African students, educate more ethical entrepreneurial leaders, and deepen higher education’s role in Africa’s growth and success.”
Strengthening Africa’s higher education ecosystem is a crucial focus of the Ashesi-led Education Collaborative, which seeks to bring together over 100 higher education institutions to exchange insights and increase collective impact. The Collaborative has already impacted outcomes for 149,000 students and helped strengthen several universities.
“One of the key things that came as a result of the partnership with The Education Collaborative was helping us to ground our curriculum in African norms while incorporating best global practices,” shared Kader Kaneye, President of African Development University. “Instead of merely duplicating models, the partnership provides us with the expertise and assistance to help us think about our context, challenges, and issues, and then co-design concrete solutions in that regard.”
With its focus on entrepreneurship and innovation, the endowment partnership will also support innovators like Khadijahtu Mohammed – a Mastercard Foundation Scholar who graduated from Ashesi with a degree in electrical and electronic engineering. While at Ashesi, Khadijahtu designed a potentially life-saving, low-cost incubator for pre-term babies in rural Ghana that was named a first-place finalist in the 2020 edition of a leading global science competition called Falling Walls Lab. Enabling young people to lead, solve problems, and create work opportunities aligns closely with the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy, which seeks to enable 30 million young people in Africa, particularly young women, to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030.
“We believe, as Ashesi does, that the purpose of education is to prepare young people for work and leadership in a dynamic world,” said Mastercard Foundation President and CEO Reeta Roy. “Over the last 10 years, we have had a remarkable partnership with Ashesi supporting catalytic young leaders shaping Africa’s future. In the next decade, we will also work to strengthen a network of institutions that share this vision for relevant and inclusive higher education, so we can impact even more young people and, through them, the world.”
Africa has the youngest and fastest-growing population in the world. By 2030, there will be 375 million young people in the job market in Africa, who can serve as a force for Africa’s transformation if they have the skills and knowledge to build and contribute to the economic drivers of Africa’s future. Higher education plays a critical role in catalyzing this potential but must be relevant and accessible to achieve its mandate.
FAQs: Mastercard Foundation’s Endowment for Educational Excellence at Ashesi University Foundation Canada
FAQs: Mastercard Foundation’s Endowment for Educational Excellence at Ashesi University Foundation Canada
What is the Mastercard Foundation Endowment for Educational Excellence?
The Mastercard Foundation Endowment for Educational Excellence is a partnership between the Mastercard Foundation and the Ashesi University Foundation Canada designed to enable world-class, inclusive higher education in Africa while driving innovation and entrepreneurship on the continent.
The endowment with the Ashesi University Foundation Canada will help:
- Support the growth of an Ashesi-led Education Collaborative, which will bring together over 100 higher education institutions to exchange insights, increase their impact, and improve education outcomes for more than 1 million students by 2030.
- Enable the continuity of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Ashesi University, supporting 1,500 new scholarships at Ashesi each decade in perpetuity, ensuring that Ashesi is accessible to a diverse group of students.
- Amplify African youth entrepreneurship by enabling 400 students and alumni of Ashesi to start or scale businesses in Africa every decade in perpetuity.
How will the endowment fund be managed?
Ashesi University Foundation Canada will manage the Mastercard Foundation Endowment for Educational Excellence. Ashesi University Foundation Canada is a registered Canadian charity. It is part of the Ashesi ecosystem, whose mission is to educate ethical, entrepreneurial leaders in Africa; and to cultivate within students critical thinking skills, concern for others, and the courage it will take to transform the continent.
What inspired the Mastercard Foundation Endowment for Educational Excellence?
The partnership with the Ashesi University Foundation Canada builds on a decade of collaborating for impact between the Mastercard Foundation and the Ashesi community. This began in 2012 with the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program—an education and leadership development initiative that supports talented young people, primarily in Africa, who face economic and social barriers to learning but share a deep commitment to service.
Ashesi and Mastercard Foundation are building on that foundation to reach even more young people by strengthening higher education institutions across Africa, enabling Ashesi to provide more scholarships that make higher education accessible to diverse young people, and accelerating youth entrepreneurship.
What is the history of Mastercard Foundation’s relationship with Ashesi University?
The Mastercard Foundation first partnered with Ashesi University in 2012 when the University became one of the inaugural partners of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program – an education and leadership development initiative that supports talented young people, primarily in Africa, who face economic and social barriers to learning but share a deep commitment to service. The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program is intentional about reaching young women, forcibly displaced youth, and young people with disabilities.
The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Ashesi University has enrolled over 600 young Africans since its inception, 375 of whom have graduated with the majority being young women. Through this partnership, the Mastercard Foundation has also enabled:
- A high school robotics, engineering, creative arts, and entrepreneurship program that has reached nearly 1,000 high school students;
- An entrepreneurship program in Ghana, administered in partnership with Solidaridad, that reached 1,000 people in cocoa-growing regions and led to the creation of 400 new businesses; and
- The Ashesi Education Collaborative, which has impacted learning outcomes for 149,000 students, across 23 partner universities.
