The MasterCard Foundation Announces New University Partnerships in Africa
African Scholars receive major boost to attain university education
Cape Town, South Africa, December 3, 2014 – At the Talloires Network Leaders Conference today, The MasterCard Foundation announced that over 2,300 university students will be able to hit the books in classrooms in Uganda, South Africa and Ghana by early next year. The Foundation is committing $86.6 million to work in collaboration with four new African university partners to educate talented, yet economically disadvantaged, young people through its Scholars Program.
These institutions join the global network of 21 partners in the Scholars Program, including Ashesi University College in Ghana, the first African University to partner with the Foundation in 2012.
The new partnerships announced today include:
- Makerere University, Uganda
- University of Pretoria (UP), South Africa
- KwameNkrumahUniversity of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana
- University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa
This collaboration builds on the Foundation’s growing network of global education partners who are committed to educating Africa’s young leaders who will use their knowledge and skills to lead change in their communities and contribute to meaningful transformation across the continent. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, the University of Pretoria and Makerere University have already opened their doors to their first cohorts of MasterCard Foundation Scholars, while the University of Cape Town is expected to welcome its first cohort in January 2015.
“I feel the itch to learn,” said Yvonne Sihle Mashaba, a MasterCard Foundation Scholar majoring in Environmental Economics at the University of Pretoria. “I want to acquire knowledge that will help me fulfill my dream of ending poverty and unemployment around the world.”
“The MasterCard Foundation is excited to have these four new partners joining the Program,” said Reeta Roy, President and CEO of The MasterCard Foundation. “These universities are aligned with the Foundation’s vision of developing Africa’s next-generation leaders who will apply their ingenuity and empathy to drive progress in their communities and countries.”
These African universities are part of a global initiative. The MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program is a 10-year, $500 million Program that hopes to inspire young people to lead change through education. Scholars receive holistic financial, social, academic and leadership development support to create pathways for them to transition to jobs, entrepreneurial activities or further education. By the end of the Program, about 75 percent of the Scholars will be girls and young women. The Program is significant at a time when global investments in education have dropped by 10 percent over the last two years, putting the achievement of existing and future education goals at risk – particularly for young women and girls.
“The pride of a higher education has created in me the urge to give back to society,” said Maame Kwamah Otsieku Baah, a MasterCard Foundation Scholar studying at KNUST in Ghana. “I believe that even if I cannot change the world, I can lead the change. True success can only be the measure of the value I add to the lives of others.”
Yvonne Sihle Mashaba, Maame Kwamah Otsieku Baah and other Scholars are available for media interviews. Read their biographies below.
Partners who have joined The MasterCard Foundation’s Scholars Program include:
- African Leadership Academy, South Africa
- African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), South Africa
- American University of Beirut – Faculty of Health Sciences, Lebanon
- Arizona State University, USA
- Ashesi University, Ghana
- BRAC, Uganda
- Campaign for Female Education (Camfed), Ghana
- Duke University, USA
- EARTH University, Costa Rica
- Forum of African Women Educationalists (FAWE), Rwanda and Ethiopia
- Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana
- Makerere University, Uganda
- McGill University, Canada
- Michigan State University, USA
- Stanford University, USA
- University of British Columbia, Canada
- University of California, Berkeley, USA
- University of Cape Town, South Africa
- University of Pretoria, South Africa
- University of Toronto, Canada
- Wellesley College, USA
For more information: www.mastercardfdn.org.
Follow the conversation on education on Twitter (@MCFScholars), Facebook and LinkedIn.
About The MasterCard Foundation
The MasterCard Foundation is an independent, global organization based in Toronto, Canada, with more than $9 billion in assets. Through collaboration with partner organizations in 46 countries, it is creating opportunities for all people to learn and prosper. The Foundation’s programs promote financial inclusion and advance youth learning, mostly in Africa. Established in 2006 through the generosity of MasterCard Worldwide when it became a public company, the Foundation is a separate and independent entity. The policies, operations and funding decisions of the Foundation are determined by its own Board of Directors and President and CEO. For more information on the Foundation, please visit www.mastercardfdn.org.
About The MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program
The Scholars Program provides academically talented yet financially disadvantaged young people, particularly from Africa, with access to quality and relevant secondary and university education. Students selected for the Program receive a holistic set of financial, social and academic supports throughout their education and during their post-graduate transitions. The Program consists of a global network of education institutions and non-profit organizations, who together believe that education is a catalyst for social and economic betterment. The Program aims to educate 15,000 young people, and enable them to contribute to the economic growth and social development in their countries of origin. For more details, please visit www.mastercardfdnscholars.org.
For more information, please contact:
Isabelle Bourgeault-Tassé | Communications Manager | ibourgeault-tasse@mastercardfdn.org
Biographies
THE MASTERCARD FOUNDATION
Reeta Roy
President and CEO
Reeta Roy is the President and CEO of The MasterCard Foundation. A passionate advocate, Reeta works to ensure that the Foundation is focused on the people it serves, and she travels extensively in the communities where it is active. Reeta is a member of the Aspen Philanthropy Group and the World Economic Forum on Social Innovation. She has spoken before a wide array of fora, including the UN General Assembly (for the International Year of Youth), the Clinton Global Initiative, the World Innovation Summit for Education and the UNESCO Youth Forum. Prior to joining the Foundation, Reeta held a variety of leadership positions at Abbott and the Abbot Fund. She has also worked at the United Nations.
Jason Reindorp
Director, Communications
Jason is a strategic communicator and brand builder with over 15 years experience in international public relations, branding and marketing. Throughout his career, he has worked for a variety of companies such as Microsoft, Expedia, Akamai and Audi. Jason is responsible for building and managing the Foundation’s brand reputation. In this role, he oversees the organization’s marketing, public affairs, communications and content programs. Jason grew up in Nova Scotia and, after getting his Bachelor of Public Relations at Mount St. Vincent University, moved to Europe where he earned his Master’s in Communication Sciences from the Sorbonne.
KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (KNUST)
Maame Kwamah Otsieku Baah – Ghana
MasterCard Foundation Scholar
Kwamah is a first-year student in Business Administration at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology who aspires to become an international business lawyer. She wants to contribute to national and global development through community service by empowering girls in primary schools. Kwamah has also advocated for policies that will benefit women and entrepreneurs, initiating projects that will help safeguard the rights of vulnerable people.
Dr. Kofi Ohene Owusu-Daaku
Dean of Students
Kofi has spent 34 years, since 1980, in student teaching and administration at KNUST and elsewhere. He has been a Senior Tutor, Hall Master Head of Department, Vice Dean of a medical school and the Acting Dean at University for Development Studies in Tamale, Ghana. Presently, he is a Professor of Anatomy, Physiology, Embryology and Genetics, and the Dean of Students at KNUST. He is also leading the Scholars Program at KNUST as a special assistant to the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. W.O. Ellis. KNUST has 40,000 students.
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY
Catherine Kanabahita – Uganda
Director, Gender Mainstreaming Directorate
Catherine Kanabahita Guma, currently the Director of the Gender Mainstreaming Directorate (GMD), Makerere University is highly skilled in research, communication, advocacy, lobbying, negotiation and organizational development. She has a Master’s degree in Business Administration, a Master’s degree in Gender and Women Studies and a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication. She is also the Coordinator of the US $ 21m MasterCard Foundation’s Scholars Program at Makerere University, offering scholarships to academically talented, yet economically disadvantaged, students from Africa to access higher education at Makerere University from 2013 to 2023. Previously Catherine was a Gender Advisor with the Dutch Embassy in Uganda, a Sponsor Relations Coordinator with Compassion International, a Public Relations Officer with Uganda Tourism Board and a Communications Officer with World Vision International.
UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN
Miranda Nyathi – South Africa
MasterCard Foundation Scholar (Akwanya Program)
Passionate about education, Miranda founded MathmaHelp – a DVD series designed to raise test scores and increase college admissions in low-income school districts. She is currently studying Applied Math and Computer Science at the University of Cape Town as part of The MasterCard Foundation’s Akwanya Program, a collaborative effort between the Foundation and the African Leadership Academy (ALA) that seeks to demonstrate that by removing financial barriers and providing the right kinds of support, students from disadvantaged communities in Africa can enroll and succeed in university, and ultimately make a difference in their communities.
Dr. Russell Ally
Executive Director, Development and Alumni
Dr. Ally was appointed Executive Director of the Development and Alumni Department (DAD) from 1 August 2013. He has worked for the past five years at the Ford Foundation, an endowed, non-profit grant-making foundation based in New York. A UCT alumnus, Dr. Ally started his career as a history teacher at the John Bisseker Senior Secondary School in East London. He obtained his Master’s at Rhodes University and a Doctorate from Cambridge University, both in History. He then worked as a senior history researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand where he served on Senate and Council and was founding chairperson of the Academic Staff Association. Before joining the Ford Foundation, Dr. Ally was the Country Representative and Executive Director of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation in South Africa and worked for the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Earlier, Dr. Ally served on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Human Rights Violation Committee, chaired by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.
UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA
Yvonne Sihle Mashaba – Swaziland
MasterCard Foundation Scholar
Yvonne is pursuing a Master’s degree in Environmental Economics at the University of Pretoria. She is an aspiring entrepreneur who hopes to share the knowledge she has gained through her studies to kick-start an agribusiness that will create jobs and stimulate the economy in her home community. Yvonne has also actively given back to her community by volunteering as a peer-mentor on health matters related to HIV/AIDS, while also reactivating a health club at her former secondary school that uses drama to communicate information about girls’ health.
Professor Ana Naidoo
Ana qualified as a Mathematics teacher and later became involved in teacher education. In 2006, she became Dean of Education at the University of Port Elizabeth and then moved to Pretoria where she took on the position of Deputy Dean of Education at the University of Pretoria. In her present position as Deputy Director: Academic Development, she provides strategic leadership in respect of academic development of students and professional development of staff. Ana has developed an extended academic orientation program for first-year students.
