NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Unlike financial inclusion efforts in the more developed world — where there is a good deal of existing financial and commerce infrastructure to leverage — the developing world financial inclusion issues are threaded throughout a host of other local issues. Which, according to John Sheldon, Senior Vice President, Innovation Management for Mastercard Labs, means that solving for financial inclusion in the developing world often means working somewhat laterally on the problem.

“What we are trying to do is impact big populations and solve big problems. You aren’t going to just solve financial inclusion by just offering better financial products. Those products have to exist in a context. You have to go after big problems and embed financial tolls in the solutions.”

Which is how Mastercard finds itself announcing the launch of the 2KUZE platform. Named for a Swahili phrase roughly translated to “Let’s grow together,” 2KUZE is a mobile marketplace for East Africa’s agricultural sector.