Opportunities
Strive Community Innovation Fund
Big ideas for small businesses
$1m in grants available!
Applications are currently closed. The next open application period will be announced in our newsletter.
Overview
Innovative solutions to support small business growth at scale
The Strive Community Innovation Fund aimed to spark new ideas for catalyzing small businesses' resilience and growth, at scale. We were seeking truly innovative solutions that can be transformative for these small enterprises which are the backbone of our economies.
The fund made available up to $1m for digital and data first solutions that enable small businesses with fewer than 10 employees to digitize their operations, better use financial services, or participate more effectively in digital marketplaces. Successful applicants will each received up to $150,000 to develop and test their innovation over a 12 - 18 month period.
What Strive Community Innovation Fund winners received
Strive Community Innovation Fund winners have the opportunity to build and test the most innovative and experimental solutions that they may not have otherwise been able to pursue. In addition to funding, they have access to Strive Community and Mastercard expertise, as well as a great opportunity for exposure and publicity.
Funding
Mentorship
Visibility
Who should apply?
Applicants can be start-ups, established companies, non-profits, social enterprises, or other organization types. Projects must be tested and implemented outside of the US and Canada. Applicants can apply as single entities or as a consortium of multiple organizations. See more details in the Eligibility Criteria.
What are we looking for?
We are looking to test new products, features, services and business models, not fund the scale up of business-as-usual solutions. We want to test new innovations developed by organizations with an existing track record of working with small businesses, not entirely new entities. We seek solutions that have potential for impact at scale, not those which are highly sector or market specific. We will not fund the development of training content or business-as-usual products and services with this fund.
Want to learn more?
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Does this sound like a good fit?
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