Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, and sustainable digital economy that works for everyone, everywhere. We understand how interconnected the world is, and we see firsthand how our commitment to social responsibility and our core values of operating ethically, responsibly and with decency is directly connected to our continuing success as a business.
We recognize bringing more people into the digital economy strengthens the systems, empowers its users and leads to inclusive growth. That’s why we’re doubling down on our original global financial inclusion commitment to bring a total of 1 billion people into the digital financial system by 2025.
Our technology and expertise are powering today’s innovation. We are taking a digitally enabled approach to supporting the financial needs of small businesses and individuals. By applying the full strength of our resources and trusted network, we can help people reach their full potential, ensure economic growth is inclusive, and that the planet thrives.
Research shows that having financial savings and assets are critical building blocks for upward economic mobility, both within one’s lifetime and across generations.
In order to create pathways for economic mobility, we must improve the financial security of individuals by getting people access to the financial tools they need, but also helping them use those services effectively. The financial struggles of individuals, especially lower-wage, non-traditional workers, women and people of color, have been exacerbated by a global pandemic as well as the disruptive effect of technologies. For workers in developed economies, the widening gap between low and high-wage jobs, has created a demand to modernize the safety net and better help workers navigate a changing labor market. In emerging markets, growing digital economies have created an imperative around skilling workforces to succeed in the digital economy.
Gig and independent workers have appeared in greater numbers. Approximately one in 10 of Europe’s 220MM (24.5 MM) total workforce earn income through non-traditional means
While over 80% of these non-traditional workers are freelancers, gig workers represent a growing minority. Unlike the traditional salaried worker who can rely on the same paycheck coming in every other week, this group struggles with managing various income streams and saving for the future.
At Mastercard, together with our partners, we are rethinking how workers can access and thrive from a new system of benefits. A modernized system of benefits that is people-centric, portable, interoperable and inclusive.
We also focus on career management and coaching, publishing original research on the impact of technology and automation on workers in Europe and hosting senior stakeholder convenings. For instance, we work with the Brussels-based Bruegel think tank to produce research and host events to help the public, private and civil society sectors prepare and pivot to ensure the future of work in Europe is decent, fair and inclusive. We are also investing in partnerships and programs that use technology to help workers better navigate job transitions, and gain access to skills and mentoring opportunities. In the UK and France, we work with the RSA and Bayes Impact to build an AI-powered career management platform to help 100,000 low mobility and low-income workers better manage their careers.
Small businesses face barriers in accessing the products, services and know-how they need to stay resilient and thrive in the digital economy. These challenges became more dire during the pandemic, amidst lockdowns, social distancing mandates, shifts in consumer behavior and disruptions to supply chains and financial systems.
Many of our efforts are focused on digitalizing small businesses and the ecosystem that supports them. This includes community-based lenders and microfinance institutions as well as other service providers. The digital transformation has enabled existing partners to respond to the new needs of small business clients, increase their loan volume and rapidly deploy relief to COVID-19 impacted small businesses.
For example, through a program with the Microfinance Centre, we are supporting 90 microfinance institutions and 300,000 small businesses to increase their financial resilience. In Belgium we are helping increase the sales and financial resilience of 2021 small businesses (via BeCommerce) and in the UK, in partnership with Enterprise Nation, Be the Business and Digital Boost, we are helping 650,000 micro and small businesses adopt technology, build their skills and increase their social capital.
We recognize the important role data-driven insights can play in delivering transformational change that improves the lives of vulnerable people and helps solve our most pressing challenges.
When social sector organizations become more data-science driven, they can more effectively scale their resources to tackle complex social challenges like inequality, global health and climate change.
As a part of our commitment to corporate data responsibility, we are leveraging our own information and insights to identify needs and opportunities to make a positive impact on society.
We have dedicated resources and teams to tap into Mastercard data expertise, assets and insights, and that of our partners, to help local and regional economic development officials across Europe and beyond bring investment to underserved communities, measure disparities between neighborhoods and demographic groups, and inform workforce development strategies.
In 2019, with support from The Rockefeller Foundation and The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth we launched data.org as a platform for partnerships to build the field of data science for social impact (DSSI).
data.org announced a $10 million Inclusive Growth and Recovery Challenge to tap into the expertise and ingenuity from around the world to identify ways in which data science can contribute to tools and platforms that have positive social impact. Eight winners were selected from more than 1,250 applications in over 100 countries across 6 continents to use data science to advance shared prosperity. Aalborg University in Denmark is one of the winners and its team works on identifying the geographical places most vulnerable to out-migration and economic instability. In the UK, we have created the Inclusive Growth Score, a tool that helps city leaders identify opportunities for revitalization and measure the outcomes of investments in opportunity zones and distressed communities nationally.
Learn more about the Inclusive Growth Score