News

Four Mastercard Foundation Scholars have received Special Recognition Awards after pitching their ventures to a panel of judges for seed funding at last month’s Scholars Entrepreneurship Fund (SEF) 2.0 Pitch Day.Congratulations to Abubakar Abass, Munotidaishe Andrew Matsvairo, Purity Gakii Kirea and Samuel Tekle Mengistu! The awards, announced at t…

Congratulations to three Mastercard Foundation Scholars – Desmond Agyei, Abass Abubakar, and Joan Sseggane Nantaba – who earned top prizes at last month’s Trinity Hall Catalysts Showcase!The event, a collaboration between Trinity Hall College and the Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation, brought together 20 social and environmental entrepreneurs …

The second in a packed series taking you inside our Scholars Entrepreneurship Fund (SEF) 2.0 entrepreneurship and venture development programme. This week's edition features Purity Gakii Kirea, an MPhil candidate in Education, Globalisation and International Development. She is also the co-founder of ColdCure Kenya.In the run-up to this year's Scho…

This is the first in a five-week packed series taking you inside our Scholars Entrepreneurship Fund (SEF) 2.0 entrepreneurship and venture development programme. Join us as we follow our scholars on their journey from idea to scalable venture. Each week, we'll spotlight a different scholar's experience as they prepared to pitch their venture to a p…

Join one of our regional webinars to find out more about the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at the University of Cambridge and how to apply for entry in October 2027.The online sessions will cover:The Cambridge Master's application process and entry requirementsEligibility criteria and the courses you can apply forHow and when to applyThe s…

The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at the University of Cambridge is pleased to invite members of the public, ecosystem partners, founders, investors, students, researchers, and innovation stakeholders to attend the 2026 SEF 2.0 Pitch Day.📅Tuesday, 9 June 2026🕛2.30pm – 6.00pm: Pitching at Cambridge Judge Business School📍LT1, Cambridge Judge…

On Saturday 9th May, we held the Annual Mastercard Foundation Scholars Transitions Day. Jéssica Julaia Bouché, MPhil in Conservation Leadership, was the journalist-of-the-day and had these reflections to share:Transitions are often described in practical terms: finishing a degree, searching for opportunities, moving countries, or starting a new cha…

Mastercard Foundation Scholar Nelson Elijah reflects on his Fitzcelerate entrepreneurship programme experience and shares what's next for his social venture, UDO. 

The prestigious Heat Adaptive Architecture Design (HAAD) Competition, organised by the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, challenges students to design affordable, scalable solutions to combat extreme heat.Second-year PhD researcher and Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program alumnus Kumary Saitabau, one of this year's winners, discusses his des…

Conservationist Ruth Singen came to Cambridge in 2022 – part of our very first cohort of Mastercard Foundation Scholars. Ruth tells us about those early days in Cambridge and reflects on the remarkable journey that has brought her ‘right where she’s meant to be’.

We’re delighted to announce that 92 outstanding African students have been selected to become Mastercard Foundation Scholars and will begin their master’s programmes in Cambridge this October.Selected applicants come from 23 different African countries, including two not previously represented on the programme; Togo and Sierra Leone.The fifth cohor…

Since time immemorial, the rivalry between Oxford and Cambridge has stood as one of the greatest in the world. This weekend, they met in the battle of blades to see who will be crowned winner of the 171st Boat Race.My first experience of the Boat Race though, was in Lusaka, Zambia in 2024. I had received an invitation to the Alumni watch party from…

The annual Scholars Entrepreneurship Fund (SEF) competition enables Mastercard Foundation Scholars in Cambridge to pitch their social venture to a panel of experts for the chance to win funding and further mentoring support.In the run up to this year's competition, scholars came together for an 'Idea framing session' to help stress test and strengt…

I came into the African Founders Webinar on ‘Bringing last mile businesses into the digital economy’ with a familiar framework in my head: fintech as infrastructure, financial inclusion as access. What I left with was something more uncomfortable, a recognition that access without visibility is not inclusion at all.Listening to Olapeju Nwanganga, f…

A Conversation with Nnamdi Uba at the first African Founders Webinar Series (AFWS) session of the year on 18 Feb 2026. In many parts of Africa, buying land is not just a transaction - it is a leap of faith. Paper documents change hands. Verbal assurances replace verified records. Ownership histories can be unclear. And too often, people lose money …