Program Development Guide

01

Introduction

Purpose of This Guide

This document provides guidance to potential partners through the Mastercard Foundation’s Program Development Process. It will enable stakeholders who are interested in partnering with the Foundation to gain a comprehensive understanding of how the Foundation operates and what is expected, not only from the prospective partner but from the Foundation as well.

About the Mastercard Foundation

The Mastercard Foundation is a registered Canadian charity and one of the largest foundations in the world. It works with visionary organizations to advance education and financial inclusion, enabling young people in Africa and Indigenous youth in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work. Established in 2006 through the generosity of Mastercard when it became a public company, the Foundation is an independent organization with offices in Toronto, Kigali, Accra, Nairobi, Kampala, Lagos, Dakar, and Addis Ababa. Its policies, strategies, and program decisions are determined by the Foundation’s Board of Directors and Senior Management.

The Foundation’s Charitable Purposes

The Foundation’s charitable purposes are:

• To establish, operate, and provide programs and services to help children and young people access education, understand and use technology, and develop the skills necessary to succeed in a diverse and global workforce.
• To establish, operate, and provide microfinance programs and services to financially disadvantaged persons and communities to economically enhance communities and develop entrepreneurs as a means of relieving poverty.

Two Program Areas

As per the Foundation’s charitable objectives, the Foundation has two program areas:

1. To advance education.

2. To advance Financial inclusion to catalyze prosperity in developing countries.

Vision

Opportunity for all to learn and prosper.

Mission

To advance youth learning and financial inclusion to catalyze prosperity in developing countries and to support Indigenous youth in Canada.

Values

Humility, Listening, Kindness & Respect, Co-creation, Impact.

Partner Organizations

The Mastercard Foundation works with partner organizations to implement its programs in Africa, Canada, and around the world, and is fully committed to partnering with African-led organizations and Indigenous institutions to unlock their full capacity and potential. The Foundation understands how critical this is to achieving its goals, which were established in collaboration with its stakeholders.

The Mastercard Foundation is a Canadian Foundation and complies with regulations set out by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The CRA recognizes organizations that are registered in Canada as Qualified Donees; this category also includes some universities outside of Canada, the United Nations, and its agencies. The CRA designates other organizations that are not registered in Canada as Non- Qualified Donees. The Foundation works with both Qualified and Non-Qualified Donees.

For more information on these distinctions, please refer to the CRA website.

Compliance Considerations

All Foundation-funded programs and activities must align with the Foundation’s charitable purposes of promoting youth education and alleviating poverty through financial inclusion. Below are some key compliance considerations:

• All activities funded by the Foundation, whether with private sector entities or other charitable organizations, must advance one or both of the Foundation’s charitable purposes.
• It is crucial that partnerships or programs delivered with private sector organizations are structured to provide an objectively measurable public benefit. This public benefit must outweigh any benefit to the private sector that might result incidentally from the program activities.
• All Foundation programs and activities must be undertaken through a written contract, which outlines the program’s activities, outputs, and use of the Foundation’s funds. This ensures that the Foundation can meet its legal obligations as a Canadian registered charity. The Mastercard Foundation does not fund lobbying activities.

Maximizing Public Benefit

When engaging with the private sector, the primary consideration for the Foundation is ensuring the purposes and activities being carried out are charitable. This means they must be directed towards the public benefit.

Working with Public Entities

The Foundation’s programs often involve various forms of engagement with governments and other public institutions. While the Foundation is independent, it will continue to align with and support national priorities, but the Foundation does not fund governments. However, the Foundation:

• Engages government throughout the strategy development process.
• Supports public institutions as part of program design and implementation.
• Supports policy development and implementation to effect systems-level change.

02

The Mastercard Foundation Strategy

Young Africa Works Strategy

Young Africa Works is the Foundation’s strategy to enable 30 million young people in Africa, particularly young women, to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030. The strategy was developed in consultation with young people, partners, external experts, staff, and the Foundation’s Board of Directors. It was also informed by the Foundation’s extensive work across the continent.

Through the Young Africa Works strategy, the Foundation will focus on:

• Building the workforce through improved quality education, skills development, and vocational studies.
• Enabling entrepreneurs and small businesses to expand and be sustainable through financial inclusion, access to markets, and capacity strengthening.
• Aligning with growing economic sectors, such as Agriculture, Digital Economy, and Tourism in each country where the Foundation works.

Mastercard Foundation EleV Program

Indigenous youth in Canada represent the fastest-growing segment of the population and are powerful agents of change for their communities and the country. The Mastercard Foundation responded to the Truth and Reconciliation Comission’s Calls to Action.

In 2017, the Foundation launched the EleV Program, which aims to enable 100,000 Indigenous young people to access post-secondary education and transition to meaningful livelihoods. The EleV Program seeks to transform education and employment systems through innovative approaches found in the vision and values of Indigenous youth, communities, and Nations.

03

Young Africa Works Programming Platforms

Country Programs

The Foundation’s Country Programs focus on delivering Young Africa Works across seven countries: Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Senegal.

In Senegal, the Foundation is driving the delivery of programs across the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), which comprises Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea- Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. The Country Programs were created to bridge the gap in specific sectors between young people entering the labour market and the skills employers are seeking.

Pan-African Program

As part of the Young Africa Works strategy, the Pan-African Program (PANA) aims to enable young women and men across the continent to access dignified and fulfilling work. PANA’s priorities include accelerating and scaling impact beyond the Foundation’s current seven African countries of presence, strengthening African institutions, and contributing to systemic changes that will shape entrepreneurial African economies and create equitable, resilient, and sustainable societies.

Education and Transitions Programs

The Mastercard Foundation Education and Transitions Programs ensure young people are prepared for fulfilling work and empowered to lead inclusive growth and social change. This program area covers secondary and tertiary education, technical and vocation studies, support for the development of teachers, and the promotion of Education Technology (EdTech) entrepreneurs.

Special Programs and Health

The Mastercard Foundation’s Special Programs and Health initiatives work to ensure the long-term health security of Africa by developing the workforce for vaccine manufacturing and strengthening the Africa CDC through the Saving Lives and Livelihoods initiative. Special Programs also include initiatives such as Community Health Workforce Development.

Strategic Programs and Innovation

These programs drive inclusion and innovation. They include partnerships with organizations led by young people, and support for refugees, displaced persons, and those living with disabilities.

04

The Mastercard Foundation Program Development Process

Inquiries & Proposed Ideas

• As the Foundation often receives proposed ideas from various organizations, this stage serves as an informal intake process to discuss these ideas, lessons, or proposed programs. The Foundation seeks to understand how these ideas may align with its charitable purposes and strategy. The intent is to promptly communicate whether or not an idea will proceed to a formal concept note.

Concept Note

• This is a formal opportunity for prospective partners to submit a concept note for consideration.
  At this stage, the Foundation reviews the concept and conducts high-level due diligence and assessment of the partner organization.
• The concept note is reviewed for fit of strategy, scale of impact, and alignment with the Foundation’s mission and goals.
  A summary of the core activities, target groups, and other key program components are also reviewed at this stage (e.g., partner capacity, ensuring differentiated value-add, highlevel budget, etc.), noting that not all program details may be known or finalized at this point of the process.
• The Foundation will collaborate with the prospective partner organization to conduct a high-level due diligence process that will review the partner organization’s governance, conflict of interest, child and youth safeguarding policies, and audited financial statements (where applicable).
• The prospective partner will be informed of the Foundation’s detailed due diligence process that will be conducted in the next phase, if the concept is approved to progress.
• There will be a formal communication on whether or not the submitted concept note will progress to the next stage.

Proposal Development & Due Diligence

• The Foundation develops its programs through a co-creation approach with its partners. The Foundation will facilitate a co-design workshop and jointly develop the program interventions that will be achieved in line with desired impact outcomes.
• Detailed guidelines and tools are provided to potential partners to support them during the proposal development process. The guidelines will outline the essential elements to include in the proposal, such as the program’s objectives, connection to charitable purposes, anticipated impact, and governance structure. Each program will be assigned a primary Foundation point person who will collaborate with each partner to ensure their proposal meets all requirements.
• The detailed due diligence process is conducted, which builds on the high-level due diligence conducted during the concept stage and will evaluate the organization’s operational and financial capacity (through a detailed organizational questionnaire), program risks, compliance risks, and more.
• Throughout the proposal development process, there may be opportunities to refine, review, or decide against proceeding with the program, and this will be communicated promptly to the partner organization.

Program Review & Approval

All programs, regardless of their budget size, geographical coverage, or complexity, undergo a thorough review at various stages of the program development process. The Foundation implements different stages of reviews to enhance program design and ensure strategic alignment with its objectives. These reviews include Peer Reviews, Management Reviews, and, when applicable, Board Reviews.

Contracting & Disbursement

• Finalizing the contract is the decisive step that confirms the program’s commencement. Upon completion of this step, disbursement is made to initiate the program’s implementation in line with the terms of the contract, and a detailed onboarding is organized for the partner organization

Program Implementation, Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning

This stage will ensure:

• Effective execution of the workplan, developed in the Proposal Development phase and finalized in the contract.
• Continuous documentation and tracking of the progress of the program against defined milestones and timelines.
• Evaluation of outcomes and impact against defined metrics and objectives.
• Opportunities to address any issues or challenges that arise during the implementation phase and manage partnerships to realign to goals, including tracking any key changes.
• Documentation and sharing of lessons learned to scale impact.
• Efficient program close-out process, including evaluating options for renewal or scale-up.
• Formalization of the completion of the implementation phase.

Step 0: Inquiries and Proposed Ideas

The Foundation’s partnership process begins with an idea. For this idea to progress into a concept, it must be in line with the Foundation’s mission and charitable purpose. The ideation stage is an opportunity to learn and brainstorm with key stakeholders, ecosystem actors, and prospective partners.

Step 1: Concept Note

If there is alignment at the idea stage, the Foundation team may request a Concept Note through an Expression of Interest (EOI) Process from the partner. This is a request to prospective or existing partners to develop and submit a program concept in response to an idea or intervention on how they can contribute to the strategic vision of the Young Africa Works strategy within a specific country or program area.

Before inviting partners to submit an EOI / Concept Note, the partner organizations and the Foundation will have numerous opportunities to engage and discuss the strategic roadmap. Partners will also be provided with guidance documents and tools that can support them.

The Foundation may utilize any of the following Expressions of Interest (EOI) approaches:

• Single-source EOI: For prospective partners already known to the Foundation.
• Closed EOI: For a known market of prospective partners.
• Open EOI: For an unknown market of partners

The Foundation encourages collaboration and coordination with other implementing partners and stakeholders to achieve strategic outcomes within the country or program area, and aims to partner with organizations that:

• Share the Foundation’s vision and align with its values.
• Demonstrate a commitment to safeguarding, diversity and inclusion, and youth engagement through policies, programs, and practices.
• Clearly communicate alignment with its strategic vision, strategic roadmap, and outcomes.
• Have completed a high-level due diligence process.

The partner will respond with a high-level EOI / Concept Note outlining how they and/or program will:

• Contribute to the strategic vision and outcomes sought within the specific country / program area.
• Achieve the outcomes and ensure equity and inclusion goals are met.
• Collaborate with/leverage other implementing partners within the ecosystem that can bring together diverse experiences to catalyze sustainable impact.
• Play a role in collaborating or coordinating with other implementing partners or stakeholders to achieve strategic and intermediate outcomes within the country/program strategy.
• Address specific gap(s) in support of the strategic vision, including the collective impact and delivery of the roadmap.

The EOIs received are then assessed by the Foundation to ensure the partner organization has:

• Strategic alignment with the Foundation’s mission and goals.
• The expertise and experience to support program delivery and capability to reach rural areas in support of young women and marginalized groups.
• A program design that is clear and coherent, responding to all the questions outlined in the Request for Expression of Interest. The design includes a clear understanding of the needs of the target group(s), operating context, and
  principles of diversity and inclusion.
• Met the high-level due diligence requirements and has the capacity to implement the program to achieve the desired impact. The Foundation will provide capacity accompaniment support to partner organizations when and where required.
• Provided a budget that clearly outlines cost items with activities and country context.

The Foundation is committed to supporting youth-led organizations and will ensure a pragmatic approach and an efficient process, including capacity accompaniment to these organizations in support of its mission.

Once the organization submits an EOI / Concept Note, this formally kicks off the Program Development cycle and the Foundation aims to respond to organizations promptly on the decision whether or not to enter into proposal development, typically within 20 business days.

Step 2: Proposal Development and Due Diligence

In line with the Foundation’s value of co-creation, proposals are developed through a process of co-design, bringing together diverse perspectives and experiences, and ensuring shared ownership and accountability.

Outlined below are the key steps/components of the Proposal Development and Due Diligence Stage:

A. Partner Proposal Co-Design Workshop

A proposal co-design meeting onboards prospective partner(s) to the Foundation’s values and key concepts guiding its work (e.g., charitable purposes, safeguarding, impact, gender, communication for impact). It also provides an opportunity for the Foundation to better understand the work of its partners.

The workshop delves into the proposal package materials, country/program roadmap, and partnership roles and responsibilities. The Foundation’s integrated program team and partner institutions will discuss program design, budgeting, the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) framework, scenario planning with risk mitigation strategies, and more. While the Proposal Co-Design stage is not a guarantee for program approval, it will deliver the following outcomes:

1. A mutual understanding of the priorities, principles, and values guiding each partner organization.
2. Familiarity with the Mastercard Foundation’s proposal development processes and specific requirements.
3. Clarity on the program’s overarching goals, including the challenge it seeks to address and the impact it looks to achieve.
4. Criteria and considerations for determining the geographic scope of the program, where applicable.
5. Collaborative mapping of the context, highlighting critical barriers, underlying drivers, and key opportunities for the program.
6. Defined pathways of change, along with a clear articulation of assumptions, potential risks, and mitigation strategies.
7. Identifying critical conditions necessary for scaling the program’s impact and ensuring its sustainability.
8. Initiating discussions around strategies for inclusion and equity, as well as defining measures of success.
9. Identifying critical capabilities needed and considerations for the program’s success.
10. Developing a workplan and timeline for the proposal and budget submission.

B. The Proposal

The written Proposal will provide key details about the program. The content will address the proposed program’s objectives, core activities, anticipated outcomes, and impacts. It will also outline how the program will be implemented, timelines, budgets, and other critical information.

The proposal package consists of the following documents:

1. Program Details
2. Interventions and Key Activities
3. Expected Impact Outcomes
4. Program, Budget and Financial Analysis
5. Detailed Organizational Questionnaire

C. Due Diligence

The Foundation conducts a detailed Due Diligence process for all programs under consideration. This process encompasses a broad approach to “getting to know an organization and its people,” including legalities and risks. Due Diligence will be conducted throughout the program development process.

As part of the Due Diligence process, the Foundation assesses various levels of risks associated with a program, including:

1. Program Due Diligence: A review of the program design, relevance, innovation, and sustainability. A field visit may be required to fully assess the program and country risk. An external reviewer and a youth representative may also review the program.

2. Organizational Due Diligence:

• Reference calls to other donors, partners, or stakeholders will be conducted.
• Evidence that documented organizational policies are in place (e.g., child and youth safeguarding, anti-bribery/corruption, anti-terrorist financing and anti-money laundering, code of conduct, and conflict of interest).

3. Legal Due Diligence:

Copy of the Articles of Incorporation or other registration documents.

• Copy of the certificate of charitable status (if applicable).
• For Canadian charities: Submit a copy of your Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) registration.
• For US charities: Submit a copy of your Internal Revenue Service (IRS) determination letter.
• For all other country charities: Submit a copy of the relevant charitable status documentation.
• Additional documentation may be required upon the Foundation’s request.

4. Finance Due Diligence:

• The organization’s two most recent annual reports and two most recent audited financial statements, if not included in the annual report.
• The organization’s two most recent government filings (e.g., tax returns).
• All necessary details for key management personnel and short biographies of each member of the Board.

Step 3: Reviews and Approval

All programs are reviewed at various stages, regardless of their budget size. The process includes feedback from peer reviewers, a leadership review, and, for select proposals, Board reviews.

Management reviews only select proposals due to factors such as budget size and complexity. Feedback at this stage is intended to identify areas where the proposal can be strengthened, potential risks/emerging issues, and associated response strategies.

Overall, the Review process is fundamental in ensuring that each program is designed with rigour, and clarity to ensure the Foundation and the partner organization are aligned on key objectives and outcomes.

Step 4: Contracting and Disbursement

A. Contracting

The Contracting process includes signing a Contractual Agreement and finalizing program plans, which include a detailed and fully approved proposal document, Year 1 Workplan, Year 1 Budget, Communication plans, and Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning plans with key milestones or deliverables. Funds must be disbursed using Year 1 plans (see Section B below for further details regarding disbursement).

The Foundation’s Contractual Agreements outline key accountabilities for the partner and the Foundation, which enable the Foundation to satisfy its legal and compliance obligations as a Canadian registered charity. Certain legal and compliance obligations require the Foundation to demonstrate direction and control over the use of its funds, verify the use of its resources, and maintain its books and records.

To meet these requirements, the Foundation’s program contracts require a high level of due diligence and reporting.

At this stage, the Foundation prepares a draft of the appropriate agreement for its partners to review in parallel with internal reviews and approvals of the partnership. Its partners can share questions and feedback on the contract before the Agreement is finalized.

B. Disbursement

Program costs cannot be incurred and funds cannot be transferred to a partner until all parties have signed the Agreement. Once signed, payment can be released.

The payment schedule depends on the program’s length, whether the partner is a qualified donee or non-qualified donee, and the nature of the contract. Payment from the Foundation will usually be released to the partner in stages. For multi-year programs, these disbursements will generally take place on an annual basis in accordance with a detailed Disbursement Budget.

A Disbursement Budget details the disbursement of funds and projected timing for the upcoming year (e.g., Year 1 by quarter for the initial disbursement, then in the following year, Year 2 by quarter for the subsequent disbursement). This is typically drafted annually or as agreed upon with the Foundation.

Before receiving a disbursement of funds for subsequent years of a multi-year program, the partner will need to demonstrate satisfactory performance, which includes the partner’s demonstrated compliance with reporting requirements.

A written contract schedule will accompany the disbursement of funds in a multi-year project. This schedule must outline the activities for which the funds will be used and include the Disbursement Budget. It must be signed by the partner and the Foundation.

The Schedule is used to outline the payments against deliverables, and it has three sections:

• Part 1: Workplan (milestones and timeline).
• Part 2: Annual Disbursement Budget (inserted by the Foundation based on the submitted Disbursement Budget).
• Part 3: Reporting requirements (annual, quarterly, within 30 days following the end of the period, etc.).

C. Compliance with Communication Guidelines

The Mastercard Foundation’s communication guidelines focus on communicating impact and the proper use and approval of the Foundation’s brand, marks, and logo. Public announcements, particularly to the media, are discouraged at this stage and will be developed to communicate impact during the partnership cycle.

Detailed Communication and Branding Guidelines are shared with partners as part of the onboarding process before the Program Implementation commences.

Step 5: Program Implementation

Learning is an intentional part of how the Foundation works. Its approach to monitoring, evaluation, and learning is monitoring comprehensively, evaluating selectively, and learning continuously.

A. Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

The Foundation believes the lessons learned from program should enable the Foundation and its partners to refine strategies, improve implementation, generate results, and drive progress towards goals. With this framing, the purpose of Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) is to create an integrated and collaborative approach that allows the Foundation to:

• Make data-informed decisions.
• Continuously learn to improve its work.
• Achieve the impact it seeks.

Each partner will work with the primary point person at the Foundation to guide this process. This collaborative work begins at the Proposal stage, where the monitoring and evaluation component is developed, and is followed by a discussion at Contracting about the program workplan.

The Foundation’s approach to MEL seeks to ensure that:

• Monitoring plans are in place, and the implementing organization has the capacity and resources to implement them.
• Periodic and annual program and financial reports from partners are received according to an agreed-upon reporting schedule, and the Foundation’s primary point person and finance person provide substantive feedback to the partner.
• Field visits are conducted by Foundation staff, and knowledge is captured to inform program implementation.
• Evaluation and Reviews are in place, including hiring external evaluation consultants, if needed, and appropriate resources are allocated. Since the Foundation evaluates programs on a selective basis, it will determine whether an independent evaluation should be included in the program design during Proposal Development. The Proposal template contains a section focused on MEL to help guide this decision.
• Course corrections, if needed, are made based on the information generated from reporting mechanisms.
• Learning about a partner’s work on the program is a continuous process, using comprehensive monitoring and selective evaluation. The Foundation encourages the documentation and dissemination of lessons learned from its partners’ programs.

Lessons learned generated from its programs are shared with partners, staff, the Board of Directors, and external audiences through learning publications, reports, and the Foundation’s website.

Further Inquiries can be directed to our online form here.

05

Appendices

APPENDIX A: Guidelines for Proposal Drafting

General Guidelines

• The purpose of these guidelines is to support proposal drafting during the proposal co-design stage. It outlines the questions that must be answered in the proposal document to facilitate the legal and compliance team’s review and ensure compliance with its legal obligations.
• Please endeavour to write in the active voice and be as direct and specific as possible. Avoid vague terms and concepts.
• Please use headings, sub-headings, tables, and other schematics to help organize and clarify your responses.

Executive Summary

• Summarize the charitable purpose(s) of the program, clearly indicating whether this program aligns with the Foundation’s charitable purpose(s) of the advancement of education for youth and/or financial inclusion for persons or communities with limited financial means (e.g., “The program advances the Foundation’s charitable purpose of the advancement of education for youth by providing vocational training to young men and women under the age of 35. The training will be provided in accordance with a certified and structured curriculum, culminating in a certification/formal designation for participants”).
• At a high level, describe the individuals or communities that the program will support, consistent with the purpose of the program.
• Briefly describe the Program’s core activities (e.g., “The program will have three pillars: education and training for youth, start-up support for businesses led by youth with limited financial means, and non-partisan advocacy work to promote policy change to address challenges uniquely experienced by entrepreneurs with limited financial means”).
• For each of the core activities, provide a short summary of the specific activities that will be carried out (e.g., “Under the education pillar, 5,000 youth will be enrolled in a virtual program that will teach them how to start a business”).
• Summarize the short and long-term impact the program will have on the individuals or communities it will serve.

Strategic Alignment

• Are there other programs in the Foundation’s portfolio that address the same or similar issues as the program? How will this program complement or link to these efforts?
• Describe how the program is designed to be sustainable after the Foundation’s involvement/funding comes to an end.

Charitable Purpose and Program Impact

Charitable Purpose

• Describe the connections between each of the components or pillars of the program to illustrate how each component is a necessary link in the programmatic chain of events that enables the intended charitable impact.
• Provide evidence (studies, analyses, examples of other programs) that supports the Theory of Change.

Participant Eligibility

• Will the program include participants that receive direct support? If so, who are these participants? The participants should relate back to the charitable purpose of the program (e.g., “The program will provide direct support to 15,000 youth with limited financial means”).
• Explain the direct supports they will receive (e.g., “Each eligible youth will receive a micro-loan to support the establishment of a new business, together with training and initial business development services”).
• Explain the eligibility and selection criteria for participants. If the Program is targeted at poverty relief, the criteria should identify how you will verify that participants have limited financial means.

Direct support and indirect impact on program participants

• Describe the intended indirect impacts of the program on participants that are aligned with the charitable purpose of the program (e.g., “The program is expected to create access to 10,000 new jobs for youth with limited financial means”).
• Please explain how those indirect impacts will be created.

Specific program activities

• Describe each program activity. Please provide the following information for each activity:
  • The specifics of how the activity will be carried out, including all logistical details (e.g., for an education program, how will participants apply to participate or be enrolled? Are there fees to participate? Who will develop the educational curriculum? What is the curriculum? Who will deliver the curriculum and what are their qualifications?).
  • The location(s) of each activity.
  • Whether the activity will involve the purchase of any physical or capital assets or equipment.
  • Whether the activity will involve the enhancement of any existing intellectual property or the development of any new intellectual property. If so, who owns the IP?
  • Describe any loans, guarantees, or grants of cash or equipment that will be made as part of the activity.
  • The timeline to implement the activity.
  • Which partner will implement each specific activity.
• Are there any details about a particular intervention that have not yet been developed? What details remain to be worked out?

Flow of funds

• Confirm how much of the overall program budget each implementing partner/sub-contractor will receive for the activity(ies) that they will carry out.
• If possible, please provide a diagram or flow chart clearly indicating the flow of funds to each partner and the corresponding activities they will carry out.

Partner Capacity and Engaging Ecosystem Actors

Lead Implementing Partner

• Describe your organization’s legal status, ownership structure (if applicable), and governance structure

Other Implementing Partners/Sub-Contractors

• Describe each partner/sub-contractor that will implement any portion of the program (legal status, ownership, governance, location of head office and operations, year established, mission, impact to date).
• If any of the implementing partners/sub-contractors have not yet been identified, please explain how you will select such partners/sub-contractors to deliver the program activities (including procurement and RFP process to be followed).
• Describe each partner’s specific role.

Ecosystem Actors/Stakeholders

• Are there other organizations or entities working to address the same or similar issues as the program? How will your program complement or link to these efforts?
• Will any individuals or entities that are NOT program participants (i.e., they are not in financial need or youth receiving education) be involved in or receive any type of benefit from the program? This may include government officials, civil society organizations, academic institutions, and private sector organizations. If yes, please list them.
• For each entity or stakeholder, please explain:
  • What they do will do, or how they will be engaged.
  • Why their participation is necessary to achieve the intended impact.
  • Whether they will receive any funds or benefits (directly or indirectly).

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

• Describe how you will monitor and assess the progress of the program, as well as outcomes and key indicators, including the tools that will be used (e.g, indicator tracking and reporting).
• How will the program adapt to ongoing program learnings and emerging insights?
• How will you ensure the program goals are achieved?

Risks

As applicable, provide details related to risk mitigation, elimination, or response strategies that can/will be implemented.

Budget

• Ensure each budget line item corresponds with each program activity.
• Include a breakdown of the budget by the implementing partner.

APPENDIX B: Impact Definitions

The Foundation measures its contribution to impact at three levels:

As the Foundation learns, it adjusts and shares its knowledge of transformative change with the broader community to influence systems that accelerate opportunities for millions of young women and men.

Youth-in-Work

Dignified and Fulfilling Work

The Mastercard Foundation defines dignified and fulfilling work as either waged employment or self-employment in which the employed young person agrees that their work is aligned with at least two of the following dignified and fulfilling work markers:

• Reliable income refers to income that meets the needs of youth and their dependents OR an increase in income compared to existing/previous work over a consistent period).
• Reputable refers to work that is viewed as honest and is well regarded by society at large.
• Respect in the workplace refers to being treated with appreciation and dignity at work.
• Sense of purpose refers to a sense of satisfaction, purpose, and accomplishment.

Shared Outcomes

Young Africa Works aims to realize its ambition of enabling 30 million young Africans, including 21 million young women, access dignified and fulfilling work by contributing to strengthening financial & sector markets, labour markets, and education and training systems through seven Shared Outcomes. Our programming is centred around responding to both the most immediate and urgent needs of young women and men, particularly the most vulnerable and marginalized, and engaging with the systems and systemic conditions that create and drive the barriers that young people face in accessing and harnessing opportunities for dignified and fulfilling work.

Our seven Shared Outcomes are as follows:

1. Equitable access to increased market opportunities: Markets and market products are more reliable, diversified, and accessible to youth, particularly to those with limited financial means.
2. Deepened financial inclusion: Increased and equitable access to financial products, capital, and literacy.
3. Increased contribution of technological solutions: A broader range of technology solutions are available and accessible to promote inclusion, learning, productivity, and market access.
4. Skilled and capable young people: Young people have strengthened soft and hard skillsets, mindsets, and aspirations to compete in the labor market.
5. Organizational effectiveness enhanced: Organizations have stronger management processes, leadership capabilities, human resources, structures, and infrastructure, including networks and linkages to markets.
6. Strong formal and informal institutions: Policy and regulatory frameworks (formal) and traditional authorities or Indigenous leadership (non-formal), positively influence and enable youth-centered growth and development.
7. Youth rights, inclusion, and voice strengthened: Youth, especially those with limited financial means, have the agency, voice, and abilities to choose and influence change processes in their families, communities, countries, and beyond.

APPENDIX C: Frequently Asked Questions