Tern Eco: supporting SME retailers on their journey to circularity
Fully closing the loop through the development of a plug and play solution that supports multiple circular models—from reuse to resale.
United Kingdom
SkyEye: Supporting small businesses to identify new customers and sales opportunities
Using marketing analytics and transaction data to enable better decision making for MSEs to benefit from operational efficiencies and cost reductions
Samoa
Datasketch: Equipping Colombian small businesses with tools to harness the power of their own data
Using an AI-powered chatbot designed to deliver crucial information, along with charts and maps, directly via chat
Colombia
Africa 118: empowering small businesses in Ethiopia to be discovered online
Enhancing an innovative MSME Digital Presence Pack (DPP) in Ethiopia to add value for small businesses
Ethiopia
Vested Impact: empowering small businesses with the data they need to make change
Leveraging AI and 300M science-based and impact data points to automatically assess and quantify the non-financial impact of small businesses
Global
SoBanHang: Empowering nano and micro businesses to thrive on digital technology
A one-stop business OS enabling merchants to access market intelligence data and manage end-to-end cross border procurement effortlessly
Vietnam
Alner: Using a deposit-reward scheme to create a sustainable consumption loop
Strengthening small business resilience by supplying refillable products through an enhanced mobile app
Indonesia
FUNDES: Connecting artisans and craft merchants to the most appropriate digitization tools
Building the first online community where artisans and craft merchants can interact and learn from their peers and adopt essential digital solutions
Mexico
Boost Technology, Project IKE: Empowering retailers with insights to increase their resilience
Data analysis, behavioral science and conversational commerce provide retailers with insights about their business to drive improved outcomes
Nigeria
Open Contracting Partnership: Government contracts made accessible for small businesses
Using open data to seamlessly connect small businesses awarded government contracts with financial institutions who can offer them credit
Colombia
Boost Capital: Financial education data de-risks and expands small business credit
Testing the viability of a virtuous circle in which businesses performing well in financial training are rewarded with lower-cost loans
Cambodia
Flourish Fi: Data-driven nudges for improved money management
Behavioral science and AI-driven incentives and nudges help build healthy financial management habits
Brazil
ChatGenie: Making social commerce work better for small businesses
New features reduce friction for businesses selling on social media, and enable management of multiple channels within a single app
Philippines
Novek: IOT-enabled vending machines maximize sales for retailers
Tech-enabled vending machines dispensing household staples increase sales, reduce stock outs, and eliminate single-use plastic
Kenya
Stay up to date on our latest news, funding and partnership opportunities
Programs
Featured Program
Strive Women: Her Business, Her Financial Future
Supporting women entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, confidence, resilience, and control.
Pakistan, Peru, Vietnam
MayaSoft: Digitizing payments and unlocking credit for Uzbekistan’s small businesses
Empowering Uzbekistan’s micro and small businesses with innovative digital point-of-sale (POS) solutions, instant settlement, and improved access to finance.
Uzbekistan
Digital distribution and growth for small Spanish hotels
Expanding small hotels’ digital sales and access to finance, while leveraging AI to support decision making
Spain
EMPRO: Building the digital skills and financial resilience of Dominican women-led small businesses
Women entrepreneurs in the Dominican Republic will digitize their operations, unlock access to finance, and connect to new markets with bespoke digital training and mentorship.
Dominican Republic
Boost Capital: Boosting the digitalization of Filipino small businesses
Leveraging technology to enable access to capital, knowledge, and resources for Filipino small enterprises, particularly women-led enterprises.
Philippines
VIQTORIA: Connecting small businesses in Ecuador with digital solutions that accelerate their transformation.
Connecting startups and women-led MSEs across Ecuador to cross-fertilize ideas and accelerate their digital transformation.
Ecuador
GO DIGITAL: Empowering women-led small businesses in Poland to grow through digitalization
Unlocking the potential of female entrepreneurs by connecting them to tailored digital tools and one-on-one support services
Poland
Tern Eco: supporting SME retailers on their journey to circularity
Fully closing the loop through the development of a plug and play solution that supports multiple circular models—from reuse to resale.
United Kingdom
SkyEye: Supporting small businesses to identify new customers and sales opportunities
Using marketing analytics and transaction data to enable better decision making for MSEs to benefit from operational efficiencies and cost reductions
Samoa
Datasketch: Equipping Colombian small businesses with tools to harness the power of their own data
Using an AI-powered chatbot designed to deliver crucial information, along with charts and maps, directly via chat
Colombia
Africa 118: empowering small businesses in Ethiopia to be discovered online
Enhancing an innovative MSME Digital Presence Pack (DPP) in Ethiopia to add value for small businesses
Ethiopia
Vested Impact: empowering small businesses with the data they need to make change
Leveraging AI and 300M science-based and impact data points to automatically assess and quantify the non-financial impact of small businesses
Global
SoBanHang: Empowering nano and micro businesses to thrive on digital technology
A one-stop business OS enabling merchants to access market intelligence data and manage end-to-end cross border procurement effortlessly
Vietnam
Alner: Using a deposit-reward scheme to create a sustainable consumption loop
Strengthening small business resilience by supplying refillable products through an enhanced mobile app
Indonesia
Strive EU: Surfacing new innovations and amplifying small business voices in the EU
Supporting small businesses to navigate Europe’s twin transitions to a more digital and sustainable economy
European Union
Strive India: enabling 500,000 small businesses to succeed in the digital economy by 2025
Reaching India’s small businesses to encourage the adoption of new digital tools and enable access to markets and digital financial services
India
‘Strive for Growth’ e-commerce training program for small businesses
Supporting small businesses across Latin America to increase their online sales by providing e-commerce training content through active MSE Facebook community groups.
Global
Strive Malaysia
Empowering 100,000 small businesses to succeed in the digital economy
Malaysia
Strive Indonesia: Empowering 300,000 small businesses to succeed in the digital economy
Driving the digitalization of Indonesian small businesses and offering bespoke support, especially to women entrepreneurs.
Indonesia
Strive Mexico: Roads to resilience for MSEs
Supporting 400,000 small businesses and women micro-entrepreneurs by strengthening the country’s entrepreneurship support ecosystem.
Mexico
Strive Czechia: supporting 250,000 small businesses to succeed in the digital economy
Bolstering the resilience and growth of Czech small businesses through digitalization, peer mentoring, and financial services.
Czech Republic
Supporting the digitization of micro-enterprises in Brazil’s favelas
Training, gamification, and mentoring promote the adoption of digital tools and facilitate access to credit for favela based businesses.
Brazil
Strive UK: Empowering 650,000 British entrepreneurs to succeed in the digital economy
Connecting micro- and small business owners with the training, technology, and tools to build resilience and thrive.
United Kingdom
XRGlobal: Virtual reality upskilling for tractor owners in partnership with Hello Tractor
Testing the potential of virtual reality for training tractor owners to grow their businesses through the Hello Tractor app
Kenya
FUNDES: Connecting artisans and craft merchants to the most appropriate digitization tools
Building the first online community where artisans and craft merchants can interact and learn from their peers and adopt essential digital solutions
Mexico
Michael Miebach
CEO, Mastercard
“When small businesses thrive our local communities and economies thrive, but when they struggle, the impact is widespread. What small business owners need right now is partners who listen to them and develop innovative solutions that help them grow in the wake of the pandemic. That’s what makes programs like Strive so critical today and tomorrow.”
From the Blog
Featured Article
A new milestone for Strive Community: We’ve reached 5 million small businesses
Meeting small businesses where they are: Technical assistance models that work in an increasingly…
There is an increasingly diverse range of technical assistance models, making it challenging to provide the right information to the right entrepreneur at the right time. This article highlights where leading technical assistance providers are focusing to help more entrepreneurs succeed.
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again: The power of continuous learning in innovation
Driving innovative solutions for small businesses: Reflections from our first Strive Innovation…
Tern Eco: Making circularity easy for micro- and small businesses
Supporting small businesses to sell online: How can local providers and networks build small…
Harnessing the powerful reach of social media to promote educational content to Latin American…
How trust scales impact: The role of local partners in federal programs for small businesses
Building trust with local communities is hard. The key to driving inclusive growth starts with recognizing and valuing the trust local organizations have established with communities, and then building on that foundation to help them succeed and grow. This was the cross-cutting theme of the second Strive USA Summit in Washington, DC.
Unlocking new markets and faster practices: How digital tools support small businesses to become…
The digital marketplace dilemma: Growth opportunities and challenges for small businesses
Public-private partnerships and small businesses: A conversation on what is working in New York…
This conversation between Kevin D. Kim, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services, and Shamina Singh, Founder & President of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, took place at the Mastercard Strive USA Summit in New York.
Cracking the Code: The Game-Changing Impact of Digital Upskilling on Small Enterprises
How a wave of government programs for small businesses are strengthening the U.S.
Unprecedented federal funding is flowing into the small business sector. By complementing this funding with the right technology and infrastructure, there is a historic opportunity to greatly improve and secure the success of more small businesses, a key cornerstone of the U.S. economy.
How a wave of government programs are strengthening the U.S. entrepreneurial ecosystem
Unprecedented federal funding is flowing into the small business sector. By complementing these investments with the right technology and infrastructure, there is a historic opportunity to greatly improve and secure the success of more small businesses, a key cornerstone of the U.S. economy.
Exploring the evidence: The power of tailored digital financial services for small businesses
Harnessing immersive learning: Upskilling tractor owners to grow their businesses through VR
How Vested Impact enables data-driven impact assessments for micro- and small businesses
Building bridges for small businesses: Highlights from the first Strive USA Summit
Participants at the first Mastercard Strive USA Summit spoke about how to access and leverage the once-in-a-generation investments being made by the federal government — from building new infrastructure, to accelerating the clean energy transition, to investing directly in small businesses.
Deploying Internet-of-Things dispensers in informal retail: What have we learned?
Developing data-driven learning journeys for micro- and small entrepreneurs in Brazil
Developing data-driven learning journeys for micro- and small entrepreneurs in Brazil
Strive USA launches event series focused on local small business ecosystems
Strive USA has launched a new event series geared towards creating more profound local impact in states and cities across the country. These convenings will complement and strengthen our work nationally by cultivating collaboration among local and national providers of capital, know-how, and digital tools.
How partnerships, policy, and platforms are driving the growth of the community finance sector
New technologies, a surge in federal funding, and strategic partnerships are driving rapid growth of the community development finance sector and bolstering resilience at a time of record small business creation — but there’s still a pressing need for further action to fully realize this critical moment.
Grants available for AI solutions for small businesses
Grants available to help small businesses manage rising sustainability demands
Insights
Behavioral science to drive market participation
Behavioral science involves understanding what influences behavior. It can be an effective ally for enabling small businesses to participate more effectively in digital marketplaces.
Women-centered models for last-mile distribution
For e-commerce providers, a women-centered approach to last-mile distribution is a promising model for empowering women sales agents and better connecting with women customers.
Social commerce
Micro- and small businesses worldwide increasingly utilize social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and TikTok as virtual storefronts, tapping into a growing global industry.
Consumer protection
Adopting digital financial services by small businesses can increase their access to finance and strengthen their financial inclusion. However, a lack of trust arising from consumer protection risks can limit the adoption process.
Financial services for women-owned small businesses
Globally, one in three businesses are owned by women, who often encounter obstacles in financing, owning, and growing a business. Digital financial services can have positive business and household impacts on women.
Embedded finance
Embedded finance allows small businesses to access financial services through digital interfaces with which they already interact, with the potential to offer faster access to timely and tailored products.
Measurement in a digital age
The pandemic challenged traditional approaches to monitoring, evaluation and learning systems for business support programs, presenting new opportunities for optimization, learning, and impact measurement.
Digitizing payments
Digitizing payments not only offers small businesses many benefits and efficiencies, it also provides positive spillover effects for their customers and suppliers, and strengthens financial inclusion efforts.
Digital insurance
Small businesses are often more vulnerable to risks and shocks compared to larger enterprises. Insurance can be critical to small businesses better absorbing financial shocks, building assets, and managing risks.
Access to finance
Access to finance is critical to small businesses’ development and growth, but few solutions account for their nuanced and diverse needs, resulting in a huge small business financing gap globally.
Enabling small businesses to grow by outsourcing
For small businesses who want to grow, hiring new staff is not the only option—they could also consider outsourcing. Outsourcing enables small businesses to strengthen and execute their operations and improve efficiency.
Digital peer networks to support small businesses
Peers can support fellow small business owners by sharing business practices, facilitating new connections, and offering tailored advice. 80% of small businesses believe interacting with peers improves their business outcomes.
Digital mentoring for small businesses
Mentoring offers relationship-based guidance from experienced business owners for small businesses to develop new skills and networks to support growth. Digital channels have increased the availability and convenience of mentoring.
Delivering digital training to small businesses
Training that is delivered to small businesses through digital channels is increasingly promising. It can integrate techniques that increase knowledge retention and user engagement, leading to positive impacts for small business capacity building.
Designing digital training for small businesses
Training programs that are delivered digitally show promise for small business owners with limited time to access key information when they need it. Digital training is convenient, cost-effective, and engaging, so long as it is designed well.
