Instrumental in Building One of the Largest and Most Impactful Philanthropies in the World Bold Decision to Focus on Young People in Africa and in Indigenous Communities in Canada, Prioritizing Local Solutions and Partners Led Mission to Advance Education and Financial Inclusion for the most Marginalized
Reeta Roy, President and CEO of the Mastercard Foundation, has announced her decision to transition from the Foundation. She will continue to lead the Foundation through 2025 until her successor is appointed. Zein Abdalla, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Mastercard Foundation, confirmed they will ensure a seamless leadership transition, “Reeta has been an outstanding CEO of the Mastercard Foundation. The results speak for themselves, but it is the strength of the partner network and the talented, values-based organization she has built that are her greatest gift to our future. I look forward to working with Reeta to identify and onboard her successor and deliver another exceptional year for the Mastercard Foundation.”
As she enters her eighteenth year at the Foundation, Roy adds, “Serving the mission of the Mastercard Foundation has been life-changing. It has been an honor to build the Foundation and put it on a trajectory to be a force for good in the world. I am immensely grateful to my colleagues and our partners for the impact we have achieved together. Most of all, I am proud of our values and for walking this journey with young people, our African partners, and Indigenous communities in Canada.”
Roy was recruited to head the Mastercard Foundation in 2008, two years after it was established in Canada as an independent and separate organization from Mastercard. Her leadership has been instrumental in building one of the largest and most impactful philanthropies in the world.
Mastercard Foundation has over $ 50 billion in assets and has committed more than $10 billion to its programs in Africa and Indigenous communities in Canada. These programs have equipped more than 52 million young people with work-enabling skills and tools, supported more than 17 million entrepreneurs, and enabled more than 13 million young people to access work. Roy and Abdalla confirmed that the Foundation will stay the course on its program strategies and will commit billions more in the coming years to achieve their goals.
Bold Decision to Focus on Africa
Early on, Roy demonstrated her willingness to make bold and unconventional choices. In 2009, with her Board of Directors’ support, she focused the Foundation on Africa, believing in the promise of the young people she met. She spent time learning from African entrepreneurs, educators, and other funders. Her hands-on approach and accessibility helped forge long-term partnerships with many organizations.
Values-Based Leadership
These experiences shaped the Foundation’s values – humility, listening, co-creation, kindness and respect, and impact. They continue to guide how the organization operates. Roy elevated the views and agency of young people, who are most often excluded from education and financial services. Their input shaped the design of many Foundation programs.
Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program
In the early years, Roy was directly engaged in creating programs with her colleagues and partners, including the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program in 2012. This education and leadership initiative aims to enable 100,000 young people, mostly from Africa to complete higher education and progress into their careers. More than 40,000 have completed their education and transitioned into entrepreneurship or employment. Many are leading change and contributing to their communities.
Partnering with Indigenous Communities in Canada
In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Canada published its report about the impact of the residential school system on Indigenous Peoples and issued its Calls to Action. Roy and her team responded. They consulted with Indigenous Elders and young people, leading to the creation of the EleV Program. This program aims to enable 100,000 young people from Indigenous communities across Canada to complete their post-secondary education and transition into meaningful livelihoods – to date, 38,000 Indigenous young people have been supported. To do so, the Foundation works with Indigenous community foundations and educational institutions to deliver impactful programming, including the establishment of the Inuit Nunangat University and First Nations University.
Young Africa Works Strategy
In 2018, a day after the historic signing of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement, the Foundation launched its Young Africa Works strategy. Its goal is to enable 30 million young people to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030. Roy and her colleagues asked young people to help define “dignified” work and then created indicators to track progress. They also set ambitious targets for the Foundation: 70 percent of program participants would be young women and 75 percent of the implementing partners would be African organizations. To date, 13 million young people are working, of whom 53 percent are young women, and 67 percent of the partners are African organizations.
To execute this strategy, Roy led the transformation of the Foundation’s operations. The organization opened offices in seven African countries to be closer to communities and hired top talent from the private and public sectors across the continent. Most of the 550 staff, including Roy and her executive team, live in Africa.
Unprecedented Partnership with Africa CDC in COVID-19 Response
To ensure Africa received its share of global vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic, Roy and her team spearheaded an unprecedented $1.5 billion partnership between the Mastercard Foundation and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention called Saving Lives and Livelihoods. The initiative trained, equipped and deployed 40,000 health workers and helped increase adult vaccination rates from 3 percent to 53 percent. The Foundation is funding the development of a skilled workforce for vaccine manufacturing in Africa.
Mastercard Foundation Asset Management
In 2024, Roy and the Foundation Board created the Mastercard Foundation Asset Management (MFAM) Corporation, a separate asset management company. Its mandate is to build and manage a diversified investment portfolio to support the mission of the Foundation over the long-term. MFAM represents one of the largest greenfield investment start-ups of its kind.
Legacy of Transformative Leadership
After 18 years at the helm of the Mastercard Foundation, Roy will leave a legacy of bold and transformative leadership. She has positioned the Foundation to empower a new generation of young people to shape their own destinies and redefine what is possible in their communities and countries for decades to come. To do so, the Foundation put its support behind the leadership of many African organizations and Indigenous institutions in Canada.
Board Launches Search for A Successor
The Board of Directors will soon launch a search for the next President and CEO. Zein Abdalla emphasized the importance of alignment with the Foundation’s values , “Our goal is to find the right leader who exemplifies our Foundation’s values and has global experience, particularly in Africa, to support our people and partners and to drive forward our strategies.” Heidrick and Struggles has been appointed to support this search. Nominations and expressions of interest can be sent to mastercardfoundationceo@heidrick.com
About the Mastercard Foundation
The Mastercard Foundation is a registered Canadian charity and one of the largest foundations in the world. It works with visionary organizations to advance education and financial inclusion to enable young people in Africa and Indigenous youth in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work. Established in 2006 through the generosity of Mastercard when it became a public company, the Foundation is an independent organization separate from the company, with offices in Toronto, Kigali, Accra, Nairobi, Kampala, Lagos, Dakar, and Addis Ababa. Its policies, operations, and program decisions are determined by the Foundation’s Board of Directors and leadership.
For more information please contact:
Sconaid McGeachinChief Public Affairs and Communications OfficerMastercard Foundation smcgeachin@mastercardfdn.org
