Mastercard Foundation to drive women’s empowerment at UNGA

The Mastercard Foundation has said it will host two events at the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly later this month that border on secondary education and women empowerment in Africa.

A statement from the foundation on Tuesday said the conversations would be held under the themes; ‘Powering Parity—Inclusive Education for a Sustainable Future’ and ‘Invincible:

Empowering Women, Transforming Africa’.
According to the foundation, ‘Powering Parity—Inclusive Education for a Sustainable Future’ will focus on effective strategies and programs to improve young African women’s learning access, outcomes, and transitions to and from secondary education.

It noted that the session would also include an important announcement on the expansion of a key Mastercard Foundation partnership focused on initiatives for girls and young women.

It added that it would explore the pivotal role of education technology in fostering resilient and inclusive learning in Africa.

Mastercard Foundation expressed its commitment to accelerating access to dignified and fulfilling work for 21 million young women in Africa by 2030 as part of its Young Africa Works strategy.

“The foundation is proud to collaborate with exceptional institutions to co-create and scale solutions that drive meaningful impact for communities. Our approach resonates strongly with the UNGA 79 general debate theme of leaving no one behind,” said the Executive Director of Education & Transitions at the Mastercard Foundation, Tina Muparadzi.

The President/Chief Executive Officer of the Mastercard Foundation, Reeta Roy, highlighted that in Sub-Saharan Africa, 101 million young people between the ages of six and 18 were excluded from formal education.

“Yet, we have every reason to be optimistic, thanks to the extraordinary African educators and innovators, who have created solutions and are delivering quality education to young people.

“Expanding access to all has been at the heart of the Foundation’s work.  At these events, education champions will be sharing insights about successful policies and programs from across Africa with each other. Working together, we can scale these solutions and remove barriers for all, especially for girls and young women,” he added.

According to the foundation, panellists will include leading experts in finance, policy, and development, including the Minister for Youth Development in Nigeria, Dr Jamila Ibrahim and Executive Director of the POTUS Africa Diaspora Advisory Council at the White House, Deniece Laurent-Mantey, who will drive discussions on transforming financial systems to benefit women.

Confirmed attendees include the Minister of Technical and Higher Education for Sierra Leone; Dr Haja Wurie, Minister of Education for Ethiopia; Prof Birhanu Nega, and Minister of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy for Nigeria, Bosun Tijani.