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PRESS RELEASE

Mastercard Centre for Inclusive Growth and data.org announce AI2AI Challenge awardees


5 December 2024 | NY

From 500 applicants across 82 countries, organisations scale AI solutions for inclusive growth

The Mastercard Centre for Inclusive Growth and data.org today announced the five awardees of the Artificial Intelligence to Accelerate Inclusion (AI2AI) Challenge, a global call for AI solutions that advance inclusion and economic empowerment. Working on projects across Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, North America and South Asia, each of the awardees will receive $200,000 to develop and scale their solutions, as well as technical expertise and mentorship from the data.org and Mastercard teams.

“Our work in data science has laid the foundation for us to take advantage of the opportunity to develop AI responsibly, equitably and for the benefit of all” said Shamina Singh, founder and president of the Mastercard Centre for Inclusive Growth. “This cohort of AI2AI Challenge awardees are bringing forward innovative tools, solutions and approaches that will drive inclusive growth and redefine how we use AI for social impact across countries and industries for the coming years.”

Selected from a pool of more than 500 applicants across 82 countries, AI2AI Challenge awardees are tackling the climate crisis, small business development, financial inclusion and gender equity through existing AI solutions that have a demonstrated record of success and are ready to scale with additional funding and technical assistance. 

“The power of AI to drive impact is tremendous and must be harnessed to ensure its benefits extend to all segments of society,” said Danil Mikhailov, executive director of data.org. “In the data and AI race to be first and move fast, we must thoughtfully strive for inclusive growth that leverages data and AI to tackle the world’s most pressing problems.”

The Challenge received regional support from Dasra in India and Capital One in the United States to help expand the geographic diversity of the awardee pool and provide additional expertise at the intersection of responsible AI and financial inclusion.

As data.org’s fourth global innovation challenge, the AI2AI Challenge advances the organisation’s commitment to train one million purpose-driven data practitioners by 2032. Each awardee has committed to sharing or open sourcing their work so other organisations can replicate and scale their solutions.

The awardees

Quipu - Colombia

Quipu leverages AI to offer the technical infrastructure to bridge the financial inclusion gap for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Their approach integrates comprehensive onboarding for MSMEs, a robust scoring model analysing non-traditional data and intelligent disbursement and credit collection. The AI-driven credit alternative scoring model utilises machine learning algorithms to analyse a diverse array of alternative data points, such as mobile transaction histories, social media interactions, SMS and payment patterns. This approach allows for a comprehensive and accurate assessment of creditworthiness, particularly for those businesses typically excluded from traditional financial systems.

IDinsight - Ethiopia

Partnering with Last Mile Health and Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health, IDinsight focuses on an AI-powered call centre that 40,000+ Health Extension Workers (HEWs) can contact for real-time medical guidance on complex cases. IDinsight’s AI solution will include a case management system and a question-answering service based on comprehensive Ministry of Health (MoH) guidelines that will provide real-time support to call centre agents who will further relay critical information to HEWs via phone. Call centre agents, as a result, will learn new AI skills, leading to more efficient and effective work processes and new career pathways.

International Rescue Committee - Global

Signpost is an International Rescue Committee (IRC) program that provides critical information to displaced people affected by conflict, disasters, poverty and violence.   Their AI-powered humanitarian infrastructure offers lifesaving access to information and resources through frontline help centres, digital channels and social media. The Signpost platform allows IRC and local partner NGOs to create AI agents to deliver support at scale while removing language and geographic barriers. With pilots of this AI solution underway, IRC aims to expand its platform to selected low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Buzzworthy Ventures - India 

Buzzworthy’s BEEKIND is an AI-driven mobile application to revolutionise the beekeeping ecosystem in India by addressing the significant challenges India's 400,000 small-scale beekeepers face, from hindering crop productivity to livelihood sustainability. BEEKIND empowers small-scale beekeepers, particularly women, small landholders, landless farmers and tribal populations in rural and marginalised communities, to enhance their economic potential and resilience. Their AI platform also provides real-time insights and predictive analytics, helping beekeepers adapt to changing climate conditions and improve hive management.

Link Health - United States

The Link Health initiative leverages AI to tackle the challenge of underutilised federal assistance programmes. The platform enables more eligible individuals to receive financial assistance to alleviate poverty, reduce financial stress and improve well-being. With healthcare settings as the access point to reach low-income and marginalised communities, Link Health aims to unlock $10 million in state and federal benefits through an AI-powered enrolment platform and chatbot. Through these efforts, the Link Health AI implementation addresses immediate economic needs, fosters long-term financial stability and accelerates inclusive growth.

Media contacts

Jessica Jeng-Mitchell, Mastercard

jessica.jeng-mitchell@mastercard.com

 

Emma Donelan, data.org
emma@data.org

About the Mastercard Centre for Inclusive Growth

The Mastercard Centre for Inclusive Growth advances equitable and sustainable economic growth and financial inclusion around the world. The Centre leverages the company’s core assets and competencies, including data insights, expertise and technology, while administering the philanthropic Mastercard Impact Fund, to produce independent research, scale global programmes and empower a community of thinkers, leaders and doers on the front lines of inclusive growth. For more information and to receive its latest insights, follow the Centre on LinkedIn, Instagram and subscribe to its newsletter.  

About data.org

data.org is accelerating the power of data and AI to solve some of the world’s biggest problems. By hosting innovation challenges to surface and scale groundbreaking ideas and elevating use cases of the most effective tools and strategies, we are building the field of data for social impact. By 2032, we will train one million purpose-driven data practitioners, ensuring there is capacity to drive meaningful, equitable impact.

About Mastercard

Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re building a resilient economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realise their greatest potential.

www.mastercard.com