Mastercard has collaborated with Boost to provide digital payment wallets and embedded supply chain finance to empower and expand small businesses in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods sector in Africa.
The firms stated that the partnership aimed to provide support to distributors, wholesalers, and retailers in the FMCG sector.
They said the players would be provided with Boost’s platform as a service to access essential working capital and Mastercard’s acceptance solutions.
In a statement, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Boost, Mike Quinn, commented, “We are thrilled to enter into this scaling partnership with Mastercard in pursuit of Boost’s mission to enable small businesses to thrive in the digital economy, to create sustainable jobs and income.
“We have already proven that Boost’s model can scale widely across, and deeply within, emerging markets by building strong partnerships to digitize end-to-end supply chains between manufacturers and point-of-sale retailers.
“Mastercard will help us take our model to the next level to create transformative value for our customers and partners while fueling our global ambitions.”
For Mrs Folasade Femi-Lawal, Country Manager and Area Business Head, West Africa, Mastercard, the collaboration reiterates Mastercard’s commitment to including MSMEs in the digital ecosystem.
“We are excited to embark on this transformative journey with Boost, as we understand the challenges that small businesses face, By digitizing payments and creating a track record for their transactions, we will enable more MSMEs to access credit facilities and scale their businesses Through the delivery of integrated digital payment solutions and supply chain finance, we believe we are empowering MSMEs with essential tools to not only survive, but thrive.”
“This collaboration underscores our dedication to advance MSME growth in emerging markets and foster economic growth and financial inclusion through innovative digital solutions,” she added.
The firms added that the collaboration aimed to provide financial institutions with the capability to issue digital payment solutions and expand into the micro-retail space, while empowering merchants to digitise payments and access working capital.
