Mastercard Foundation creates MSE’s resilience facility to support businesses

Addis Ababa, June 4, 2020 (FBC) -Mastercard Foundation, in partnership with the Jobs Creation Commission and First Consult, has announced the creation of MSE’s resilience facility.

This emergency program will support micro and small-sized enterprises (MSEs) and start-ups in Ethiopia during the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, said the foundation in a statement today.

The program, with an initial commitment of approximately $24.8 million from the foundation’s COVID-19 recovery and resilience program, will ensure MSEs remain solvent, retain their employees, and are able to create increasingly innovative work opportunities in the wake of the pandemic.

The facility will provide financial assistance, in the form of grants and soft loans, via participating institutions (banks, microfinance, and business development services) to eligible, qualified MSEs, both formal and informal.

The amount and type of financial support provided will vary depending on the size of enterprise and their needs, according to a statement.

The program, to be implemented in Addis Ababa, is expected to prevent 24,000 MSEs from going bankrupt, more than 50,000 employees from losing their jobs and equip three financial institutions to effectively partner with MSEs through collateral free loans and increase their adoption rate of digitally based micro credit.

The creation of the Mastercard Foundation MSE’s resilience facility is aligned to the foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy.

Young Africa Works is the foundation’s strategy that aims to enable 30 million young people in Africa, with 10 million in Ethiopia, to access dignified and fulfilling work over the next 10 years.

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