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Five impressive sustainability and social impact focused companies across Nordics & Baltics accepted to Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIV fall 2024 partnership program

massiv class fall logos display 2024

Lighthouse MASSIV, Mastercard’s impact tech partnership program dedicated to helping one billion people live more prosperous and secure lives by 2025, is proud to announce its 2024 fall class consisting of five sustainability- and social impact-focused startups from Finland, Estonia and Sweden.

 

Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIV is a unique startup program that helps social impact and sustainability-focused companies scale through partnerships. Since its founding in 2019, Mastercard Lighthouse has already supported nearly 50 impact-driven tech startups in advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals through collaboration and strategic partnerships. MASSIV’s 2024 fall class welcomes two companies focusing on sustainability and three focusing on social impact globally, all founded in the Nordics & Baltics from Finland, Estonia and Sweden.

 

Meet the Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIV fall class of 2024:

AfriPay is a one-stop-shop cross-border payment platform dedicated to transforming the educational landscape by offering seamless financial solutions that empower African students aspiring to study abroad. Our platform integrates advanced technology with a deep understanding of the educational sector to provide a range of services, from tuition payments to study loans. We are passionate about making global education accessible and achievable for every student, regardless of their financial background. Through our partnerships and innovative approach, we are enabling students to reach their full potential on the world stage.

“We are excited to have been selected for the Mastercard Lighthouse program, which aligns perfectly with our mission to make education more accessible. This opportunity will allow us to collaborate with key partners, including educational institutions and financial organizations, to further our impact. We are confident that through these partnerships, we will create a lasting change in the education landscape, helping students across Africa realize their dreams of studying abroad.”
– John Samuel, Founder & CEO at AfriPay

Omocom – a scaleup from Sweden, Omocom provides insurance solutions for circular economy platforms such as Peer-to-peer rental platforms, as well as purchase and transportation of second hand and refurbished goods. Omocom’s products are completely integrated into the customer journey of the platform and help them boost sales and prevent churn, as well as provide automated processes for all the hassle around the payment, reporting, compliance and taxation of the insurance product, currently in 12 European markets.

“At Omocom, we believe that the future is circular. This means that the entire financial infrastructure will need to adapt to circular business models. By getting this amazing opportunity at Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIV to work alongside the giants towards a common goal of a sustainable future, we hope to be able to find a host of business opportunities and future partnerships that will boost our growth as a company, as well as circularity as a whole.e” – Ola Lowden, CEO at Omocom

PrvyX – is a startup based out of Stockholm, Sweden. PryvX is a data collaboration platform that enables industries such as telecom and banks to collaborate to combat fraud and cybercrime while preserving data privacy.

“ We’re thrilled to be part of the MASSIV program! At PryvX, our mission is to unite the industry in the fight against fraud. Through our partnership with Mastercard, we aim to accelerate this vision by teaming up with financial leaders to drive impactful change. ” – Jayesh Kenaudekar, Co-founder and CTO at PryvX

RiverRecycle – founded in Finland, RiverRecycle offers a comprehensive and innovative solution to the plastic waste crisis by building an ecosystem that addresses plastic collection, recycling, and product creation. The approach combines river-based and land-based waste collection with recycling techniques to transform plastic waste into valuable products such as plastic boards.

RiverRecycle provides developing countries with a financially sustainable solution for reducing ocean plastic pollution through rivers. RiverRecycle’s unique circular economy solution creates a low value plastic recycling ecosystem which can turn the plastic caught in the rivers into usable products such as construction board, furniture etc. The subsequent growth of the recycling economy enables the eventual eradication of the waste entering the rivers in the first place.

“We are delighted to be selected to Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIV program enabling us to connect to this vast network and increase the growth rate of our impact around the world. We are currently working in 5 countries and 10 rivers collecting some 3 million kilos of waste per annum and hope to multiply that with the help of the program.” Anssi Mikola, CEO and founder of RiverRecycle

Zero Labs – Zero Labs is a climate tech software startup providing pioneering Digital Renewable Energy as a Service platform, revolutionizing how companies can approach sustainability, and radically accelerating the global adoption of clean energy. Their ReTrace SaaS Platform and Programmable Decarbonization technologies dramatically simplify clean energy management, procurement, and reporting across entire value chains. By partnering with Zero Labs, financial institutions can fast-track sustainability goals, catalyze positive social impact, and lead the green financial revolution.

“We’re thrilled to join Mastercard’s MASSIV program, collaborating with top financial institutions to drive unprecedented sustainable innovation.
Our Programmable Decarbonization technology aligns perfectly with the digital transformation sweeping the financial sector: just as Mastercard revolutionized payments by making them instant and ubiquitous, Zero Labs aims to do the same for renewable energy adoption.
This partnership will empower banks to embed sustainability into their core offerings, creating new green-first products and services. Together we can accelerate the financial industry’s net-zero journey and mobilize vast customer bases to join the clean energy transition and help to close the renewable energy financing gap on a global scale.” – Beltran Berrocal, Co-founder & CEO of Zero Labs

The five companies joining the program were chosen for their commitment and capacity to scale sustainable partnerships. Mastercard aims to strengthen these collaborations to realize the vision of creating a making the world a more prosperous and secure place.

“This fall we selected five very qualified companies to participate in the Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIV program and the companies are at the forefront of sustainability and social impact and impact both people and planet. We are very excited to start working together with them this fall. Mastercard, together with our partner banks and advisors, can help provide impact tech startups with the network to scale beyond their markets and supports the companies in realizing their impact faster through partnerships.”

Mats Taraldsson

ADVISORY BOARD

As part of the Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIV program, startups receive feedback and support from UNDP, Swedbank, Danske Bank, Synch and individual advisory board members with diverse and impressive backgrounds from investment firms like VNTRS, First Fellow Partners and SKARP. These board members represent sustainability experts, investors, and executives, each with their own global network: 

“At UNDP, we have proudly supported the Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIV program since its inception, providing advisory services that empower impact startups to effectively measure and manage their impact and contributions towards the Sustainable Development Goals. With the launch of this fall’s class, we are excited to witness the continued growth of innovative businesses that are committed to sustainability and social impact. Together, we are not just fostering entrepreneurship; we are nurturing a movement that inspires others to take action for a better world.”

Stine Kirstein Junge

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