As part of its Young Africa Works program in Senegal, the Mastercard Foundation has partnered with InTouch to support their 10,000 Jambaars project, which will deploy a network of 10,000 agents to provide digital services across the continent, most of whom will be young people and, particularly, young women.

This collaboration between the two organizations is part of their common vision to facilitate financial inclusion, especially in Africa where very few people have a bank account. It will also enable thousands of young people and women to have access to a sustainable job. Through this initiative, the Mastercard Foundation and InTouch aim to create and stimulate a dynamic ecosystem around the distribution of financial services.

InTouch, as part of its 10,000 Jambaars project, will provide agents with:

• A one-stop shop platform to distribute all services for money transfers, mobile wallet deposits and withdrawals, bill payments, airtime top up, as well as many other services.
• Support in the formalization process of their businesses.
• Visibility of their point of sale and the services offered through the InTouch platform.
• Support for the development of their activity.
• Training in entrepreneurship and the products and tools offered by InTouch.

“We launched InTouch with the ambition of popularizing digital payments in Africa and helping to improve people’s financial inclusion. With the Mastercard Foundation, we are able to pursue our vision and at the same time offer thousands of young people and women the opportunity to realize their entrepreneurial project. We firmly believe that this partnership between the Foundation and InTouch will open up new opportunities for thousands of young people and women in Senegal,” said Mr. Omar Cissé, CEO of InTouch.

Since its inception in 2006, the Mastercard Foundation’s vision has been to create a world where every individual has the opportunity to learn and prosper. Through its Young Africa Works strategy, the Foundation works with partners such as InTouch to enable millions of young people, especially young women, to access quality education, financial services, and employment opportunities across the continent.

“This year, we’ve witnessed the power of digital technology to drive innovation and enable resilience. The Mastercard Foundation is committed to harnessing that power for socio-economic transformation and inclusion, and to create work for young people across the continent—particularly young women. We couldn’t be more thrilled to be partnering with In-Touch to advance this critical and shared goal,” said Rica Rwigamba, Country Head, Rwanda Programs, Mastercard Foundation.

The Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy is based on three priorities:

• Enable the growth of start-ups by improving access to finance, linking start-ups to financing, and supporting clusters, incubators, and innovation accelerators. 
• Support the potential of young people by linking informal sector workers to certification programs and work opportunities. The program will also provide access to start-up funds so that young people can create income streams. 
• Strengthen the quality and relevance of secondary education and technical and vocational training (EFTP) by preparing teachers and instructors through relevant, competency-based teaching methods and materials. 

About InTouch 

InTouch is a pan-African fintech created in 2014 and specializing in the aggregation of payment methods and the integration of digital services. InTouch offers merchants a universal solution that allows them to accept all means of payment and offer a wide catalogue of services via a single device (smartphone, computer, etc.). The Touch platform is currently used in 10 countries, more than 500 Total stations, more than 18,000 independent outlets (multi-services, hair salons, pharmacy, neighborhood shops, etc.) and has more than 1000 BtB partners. The company employs nearly 200 people in 10 countries (Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Guinea Conakry, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa). This expansion, which will continue with the opening of new countries, has democratized access to payment methods to a very low-banked African population while allowing merchants to grow their business through the additional revenues generated by the distribution of digital services.

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