EBRD and Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth Strengthen Collaboration on Gender Equality and Small Business Support

EBRD and Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth Strengthen Collaboration on Gender Equality and Small Business Support

(IN BRIEF) The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth have announced an expansion of their collaboration on gender equality, small business support, and digital transformation. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the organizations aims to enhance cooperation in various regions, including central and eastern Europe, the southern and eastern Mediterranean region, and Central Asia. The partnership involves initiatives such as supporting women refugees and their children in Romania, establishing an online mentoring platform for small businesses in the Mediterranean region, and exploring digital empowerment for micro and small enterprises in Central Asia. The collaboration seeks to drive inclusive economic growth, empower entrepreneurs, and foster sustainable development.

(PRESS RELEASE)  LONDON, 19-Jun-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral developmental investment bank, and Mastercard Inc.’s philanthropic hub, the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, have agreed to expand their cooperation in areas such as gender and economic inclusion, support for small businesses, and digital transformation. A meeting held in Bucharest today, with representatives from Mastercard, the EBRD, Jobs for Ukraine, and Save the Children Romania, marks the commencement of work on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the parties.

The MoU was initially announced last month at the EBRD’s Annual Meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, by EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso and Dimitrios Dosis, President of EEMEA (Eastern Europe Middle East Africa) for Mastercard, a global leader in digital payments. The Memorandum formalizes the shared commitment of the partners to build upon their existing collaboration across the EBRD’s operations in central and eastern Europe, the southern and eastern Mediterranean region (SEMED), and Central Asia.

The EBRD and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth have already collaborated in several areas. In Romania, the Center and the EBRD will join forces to support women refugees and their children who have been displaced from Ukraine. The program will provide employment and childcare support, with the employment element carried out through Jobs for Ukraine, offered free of charge to Ukrainian refugee candidates and prospective employers in over 40 countries. Childcare support will be provided by the program’s implementing partner, Save the Children Romania.

The EBRD will provide capacity-building support for the program, utilizing instruments developed and implemented by its SME Finance & Development team. These instruments aim to improve access to finance, entrepreneurial advisory support, employment, skills, and language training, enabling individuals to generate livelihoods, support their families, and integrate more fully into host communities.

The EBRD and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth have also collaborated in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean region (SEMED) on the establishment of an online mentoring platform for small businesses in Arabic. In partnership with MicroMentor, an online platform connecting entrepreneurs with volunteer mentors, the MicroMentor program has reached over 30,000 small businesses across the Middle East, North Africa, and the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean regions.

Furthermore, the EBRD and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth are exploring potential collaboration in Central Asia, with a focus on empowering micro and small enterprises (MSEs) digitally in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, particularly those with women managers and owners. In collaboration with Accion, a global non-profit organization, and in connection with the Center’s global small business program, Strive Community, the EBRD will work with financial institutions and digital business service providers in each market to develop and scale digital tools that support small business owners, improving profitability, efficiency, and management.

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Email: press@ebrd.com

SOURCE: EBRD