Skip to main content

Visa Foundation Commits Ksh 21bn to Support Immediate COVID-19 Emergency Relief, Small and Micro Businesses


The Visa Foundation today announced a commitment of two programs totaling $210 million (Ksh 21 billion) to to address the urgent need from local communities following the spread of COVID-19, as well as to support small and micro businesses, aligning with the Foundation’s long-term focus on women’s economic advancement and inclusive economic development.

The first program of $10 million (Ksh 1bn) is designated for immediate emergency relief to support charitable organizations on the frontlines responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as public health and food relief, in each of the five geographic regions in which Visa operates, including Kenya.

“As COVID-19 continues to unfold, communities are feeling the effects and need our immediate support,” said Al Kelly, CEO and chairman of Visa. “As a global company that operates a very local business, we recognize this need. We’re also committed to the long-term recovery and will continue to explore ways we can accelerate economic activity in line with our mission to help individuals, businesses and economies thrive.”

The second program is a five-year, strategic $200 million (Ksh 20bn) commitment to support small and micro businesses around the world, with a focus on fostering women’s economic advancement. This action expands the Visa Foundation’s long-standing support for small and micro businesses globally. The funds from the Visa Foundation will provide capital to non-government organizations (NGOs) and investment partners supporting small and micro businesses. 

Small and micro businesses are the backbone of the global economy, accounting for more than 90 percent of worldwide businesses and contributing 50 to 60 percent of global employment.  There is a $300 billion annual credit deficit in funding for women-owned small and micro businesses, which is expected to grow given the recent economic turmoil unfolding due to COVID-19.  

“Now more than ever, we must accelerate our support for small businesses on the frontlines driving economic growth,” said Kelly. “As many small and micro business owners are women, there will be a ripple effect supporting women’s economic advancement, which we believe is one of the most important ways to achieve gender equality, reduce poverty and foster inclusive economic development.” 

Through the $200 million small and micro business program, the Visa Foundation will provide $60 million in grants to NGOs dedicated to supporting small and micro business owners, many of whom are women, in every region where Visa operates. The Visa Foundation will also allocate $140 million with investment partners that generate positive social and financial returns for small and micro businesses. 

“Two hundred million dollars in new financial resources demonstrates our continuing commitment to support small and micro businesses, with a focus on women’s economic advancement globally” said Graham Macmillan, President of the Visa Foundation. “When women thrive, communities thrive. We know this matters now more than ever as the global economy seeks to recover and rebuild.” 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Column: Caleb Otieno: Make empathy a reflex

‘Empathy is about standing in someone else 's shoes, feeling with his or her heart, seeing with his or her eyes. Reflection is the means of processing thoughts and feelings about an activity, incident, or day. It gives us a chance to come to terms with our thoughts and feelings surrounding it”  People who understand how to watch, listen and observe the actions and emotions of those around them are often perceived as the most successful in life. A conscious alignment of one’s self with others starts with the development of empathy in the early years.  In the early years of life from age two to seven, young children are naturally ego-centric and are very much inclined to think mostly about themselves and their immediate needs. They are not yet ready to consider the needs and feelings of others. Developing a sense of empathy is an important developmental process for young children. It is at the heart of good relationships, and it begins with valuing others and their perspectives.  Tea
Post a Comment
Read more

New Research Finds Corner Shops are Faring Well Against Big Box Stores in Emerging Markets

Today,   Flourish Ventures   released a new research report showing that corner shops are doing better than predicted despite protracted supply chain issues and big-box and online retail competitors. The study confirmed better-than-expected sales and that 94% of consumers surveyed plan to shop as much or more at their corner shops in the future. Both shopkeepers and customers believe, however, that corner stores will need to accelerate digital technology adoption to remain relevant and competitive.                                                                                                                                                   The  2022 Digitizing the Corner Shop  research report, published by Flourish, a global fintech investor in partnership with Bain & Company and 60 Decibels, elevates the voices of more than 800 shopkeepers and 800 of their customers in Brazil, Egypt, India, and Indonesia. These primary research findings and accompanying Flourish analysis provide
Post a Comment
Read more

Novo Nordisk opens regional office in Kenya

From left: Pharmacy and Poisons Board CEO Dr Fred Siyoi, Denmark Deputy Ambassador to Kenya Henrik Larsen and Novo Nordisk's Vice President (Business Area Africa and Gulf) Mads Bo Larsen during the opening of Novo Nordisk's Nairobi Office Novo Nordisk, a global healthcare company headquartered in Denmark with more than 95 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care has opened a regional office in Nairobi, Kenya. Medicine is their key contribution and they supply nearly half of the world’s insulin. However, it takes more than medicine to defeat diabetes. The company, therefore, works in partnerships to drive change to defeat diabetes. Some of the key projects in Kenya include the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) project that works to improve access to diabetes care for people at the base of the economic pyramid and the Changing Diabetes® in Children (CDiC) programme that aims to bring all elements of necessary diabetes care closer to the children and build capacity for
Post a Comment
Read more