Funding to universities by the MASTERCARD Foundation

The MasterCard Foundation was established in 2006 following the floatation of the payments technology company on the New York Stock Exchange. It has emerged as a major player in the global philanthropic landscape.

The foundation develops programs primarily focused on reducing gender and economic inequality, expanding access to education, increasing the opportunities for work, and supporting overall economic growth. In March 2018, the Mastercard Foundation reset its overall strategy for 2018–2030, shifting its focus to Africa and creating the Young Africa Works long-term plan.

Key findings

According to our research of university giving between 2011-2020 by the MasterCard Foundation:

• It awarded $1.26bn to 69 universities and higher education institutions in 17 countries between 2011-20.

• In 2011, the Foundation awarded $42m in grants to six universities; by 2020 that number had increased to $574m awarded to 27 universities.

• 77 percent of all HE giving between 2011-2020 went to just 10 universities.

• While the Foundation has forged a reputation as a funder of African universities (55% of its HE giving from 2011-20 went to Africa), it is also a significant higher education funder elsewhere.

• 41 North American institutions (US and Canada) received 32 percent of university giving ($408m) from 2011-20.

• Between 2011-2020, the MasterCard Foundation awarded $701m to 19 African universities in 11 countries – Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda.

• Its recent pattern of giving can be characterized by a small number of transformational awards.  In 2020 it awarded $350m (28 percent of its entire university giving in the past decade) to the Rwanda / Mauritius-based African Leadership University and $63m to the United States International University in Kenya.

• Other significant beneficiaries are Ashesi University in Ghana ($114m), Earth University in Costa Rica ($84.6m), Arizona State University ($81.5m) and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology ($72m).