Mastercard’s Community Pass set for major expansion

Partnerships Key to Overcoming Challenges in Digital Inclusion

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Mastercard’s Community Pass is set for a major expansion, with its success attributed to strategic partnerships and collaboration with stakeholders. Launched in Uganda and rapidly gaining momentum, Community Pass serves as a beacon for overcoming challenges associated with digital inclusion on a global scale.

At the recent Community Pass Customer Summit in Kampala, Mastercard showcased how partnerships and collaborative efforts are pivotal in navigating and overcoming hurdles in the journey toward comprehensive digital inclusion.

Speaking during the summit, Tara Nathan, EVP and Founder of Mastercard Community Pass said that Community Pass is not just a digital platform, but also a catalyst for change, effectively bridging the gap between underserved communities and essential services.

“We are excited about coming together to showcase our shared dedication to enhancing digital and financial access, with a focus on addressing the specific needs of our users,” she said.

The platform, which has amassed attention for its success in Uganda and beyond, brings together public and private sector partners to create a shared suitable ecosystem.

It provides digital infrastructure to marginalized communities, addressing specific challenges such as last-mile delivery infrastructures, credit access, and the establishment of digital market systems.

The summit, attended by over 90 partners, witnessed the unveiling of key initiatives and collaborations, highlighting the platform’s commitment to tangible progress.

One significant partnership introduced during the summit is the collaboration with Haqdarshak Empowerment Solutions in India, resulting in the launch of the Yojana card. This card represents a tangible tool for financial inclusion, streamlining access to essential services in regions where connectivity has historically been limited.

Another noteworthy collaboration involves Shell Foundation and Co-operative Bank of Kenya, offering below-market interest rates to smallholder farmers for green technology. This initiative aligns with Mastercard’s dedication to creating tailored solutions that address the specific needs of communities, fostering sustainability in agriculture and driving financial inclusion.

Gerald Begumisa, Managing Director of Yo! Uganda said that their continued partnership with Mastercard’s Community Pass has already reached 1.2 million smallholder farmers in Uganda.

“This represents our unwavering commitment towards Uganda’s financial empowerment, adding that; “This year’s Community Pass Customer Summit marks a major stride towards fostering financial resilience, transforming lives, and amplifying prosperity across our nation,”

Equity Bank of Uganda’s financial inclusion card also revealed during the summit, exemplifies how strategic partnerships with financial institutions can bring banking services to marginalized communities.

Daniel Huba, Vice President, Community Pass Market Development, Sub-Saharan Africa at Mastercard emphasized the platform’s significance in the continent.

“Community Pass goes beyond connectivity; it’s about fostering sustainable economic opportunities and welcoming digitally excluded individuals into the formal digital economy. This year’s Summit is a critical move towards this vision, aiming to make digital tools and solutions universally accessible in Africa’s evolving economy,”

Community Pass is a shared suitable digital platform that provides a sustainable approach to scaling service delivery and increasing access to critical services including agriculture, healthcare, and micro-commerce. Through Community Pass, service providers can effectively increase access and reduce the cost of delivering essential services due to key platform features that enable interoperability and digital transactions: functional digital identity for users, a digital multi-wallet, digital acceptance devices and a secure data platform.

Through the Community Pass solution, Mastercard enables rural and marginalized communities, many of whom lack digitized data records, identification documentation, and/or connectivity, to digitally access a network of offline services.

Tara Nathan added that the success of Community Pass, now reaching nearly 5 million users globally, underscores the effectiveness of partnerships in driving digital inclusion by fostering collaborations with diverse stakeholders.

“Mastercard is not only overcoming challenges but is also setting a precedent for scalable and sustainable solutions that empower underserved communities,”