Mastercard and Meta in deal to support digitization of SMEs in Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 2 –  Mastercard has announced a collaboration with Meta, formerly Facebook, to support the digitization and growth of SMEs across the Middle East and Africa region.

Through an event that will take place on December 8, the two firms will facilitate a training webinar that will provide SMEs insights from industry experts and a masterclass on how to manage uncertainty from renowned author Nathan Furr.

Derya Matras, Meta’s Vice President, Middle East, Africa, and Turkey expressed the firm’s commitment to supporting small and medium businesses which continue challenges as a result of COVID-19.

“We have an important role to play, providing the necessary digital skills for startups and small businesses to survive, recover and deliver results online and offline. We are continuing those training efforts in partnership with Mastercard, helping further boost a burgeoning start-up ecosystem to positively impact socio-economic growth across the region,” Matras said.

Amnah Ajmal, Executive Vice President, Market Development, Middle East and Africa, Mastercard said the training comes at a time entrepreneurs and small business owners need to have that access to the right resources, insights, tools, and solutions to recover from the impact of the pandemic and thrive.

“Our partnership with Meta will help support SME growth in the region, small businesses form the backbone of local communities, driving the growth of the global economy,” he added.

 The recent 2021 Mastercard MEA SME Confidence Index found 74percent of SMEs in the region are optimistic about future growth, guided by the potential for digitalization, better data, access to credit, and upskilling. 

 Mastercard says it will contribute USD250 million over five years to support small businesses’ financial security globally and has further committed to connecting 50 million small businesses, including 25 million women entrepreneurs globally, to the digital economy by 2025.