What Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program actually covers.
The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program is one of the largest education funding initiatives on the African continent, built around a simple premise: that talent is evenly distributed but opportunity is not. Launched in 2012 and still running, it has committed more than 58,000 scholarships and disbursed roughly USD 6.5 billion towards education and transition programmes in Africa, with a stated goal of enabling 100,000 young people to access higher education by 2030.
What distinguishes the programme from a conventional scholarship is its scope. Rather than administering awards centrally, the Foundation partners with 62 universities and non-governmental organisations and funds a full package of support at each. Scholars receive tuition, accommodation, books and academic materials, and where necessary a return flight home, but also mentoring, counselling and structured leadership development. The intent is to carry a student through the whole arc of their education and into meaningful work, not simply to pay a bill at registration.
Support is available at secondary, undergraduate and master's level. Doctoral study is not currently funded. The programme deliberately reaches students who are often screened out elsewhere: young women make up 71 percent of Scholars, and refugees, displaced persons and young people with disabilities are explicit priorities. Some African partner universities do not require SAT or TOEFL scores, removing a well-known cost barrier for applicants on the continent.
Applicants should note that there is no single application form or central deadline. Each partner institution runs its own admissions cycle and sets its own timeline, so the practical first step is to identify a partner university offering the programme you want and work to that institution's calendar. Selection is competitive, and admission to a partner does not guarantee a scholarship. Scholars join a community of over 20,000 alumni, with access to the Scholars Alumni Network, the annual Baobab Summit and the Resolution Social Venture Challenge.
Who can apply.
Open to secondary, undergraduate, masters applicants.
Open to applicants from across the African continent. Confirm specific nationality eligibility on the official application page.
Every academic discipline is accepted.
This programme does not restrict by field. Research proposals across humanities, sciences, engineering, agriculture, and medicine are all accepted.
From here to submitted.
Scholar Africa helps you discover, shortlist, and track. The application itself is submitted on the provider's site.
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Save itAdd this to your shortlist so we can recommend similar scholarships and remind you of the deadline.
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Prepare your documentsMost providers ask for the same set — transcripts, references, a personal statement, ID. Use the checklist below to track progress across all your applications.
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Apply on the provider's siteRolling deadline — submit on the provider's site any time.
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Track the outcomeAdd to your tracker so you can update the status as the provider responds (shortlisted, interview, decision).
Document checklist
Checks are local to this device — they're not stored. Always confirm exact requirements on the provider's official application page.
What we checked, when we checked it.
Scholar Africa runs a link-liveness check on every listing before it goes live and an admin manually reviews every scholarship submitted by providers. Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program is awaiting manual review. Five deeper checks (contact, organisation, winners, third-party, formal audit) are on the roadmap.
Report an issue
Other scholarships worth a parallel application.
Same eligibility window or destination. Many strong applicants apply to three or four programmes per cycle.