Mastercard and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have partnered to support women entrepreneurs in Latin America and launch Start Path Empodera.

Launched in 2014, Mastercard’s award-winning Start Path program has built a global portfolio of elite startups, with a number of female-led ventures. These women have collectively raised over $1B in capital to grow their businesses.

Start Path Empodera seeks to advance womenʼs economic opportunities and foster a more inclusive digital economy through a program designed to support early-stage, female-founded ventures and inspire a new generation of female entrepreneurs in Latin America.

MENTORSHIP

EXPERT KNOWLEDGE

RAISE PROFILE WITH NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES

RAISE CAPITAL

Start Path Empodera is a platform to support visionary women, with the initiative to innovate and think big, who lead early-stage companies with great growth potential in the financial technology, financial inclusion, and commerce sectors.

Through a pitch competition selection process, women entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to join Start Path Empodera, a business accelerator with customized curriculum providing access to skill-building, mentorship, technical assistance, and network-building support. Start Path Empodera cohorts will receive direct mentorship from Mastercardʼs network of experts to expedite company growth and leadership development, as well as a small monetary award to support program participation.

What are the steps?

  1. CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
  3. PITCH COMPETITION
  5. AWARD OF GRANT
  2. FINALISTS ANNOUNCED
  4. WINNERS ANNOUNCED
  6. 4-MONTH SPECIALIZED PROGRAM
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
FINALISTS ANNOUNCED
PITCH COMPETITION
WINNERS ANNOUNCED
AWARD OF GRANT
4-MONTH SPECIALIZED PROGRAM

We are looking for entrepreneurs with the following criteria:

  • Female-founded with a Latin American-based team
  • Company demonstrates financial viability, technical feasibility, and a scalable business model
  • Large target market with potential for high growth in one of the following areas:
  • Scaling fintech solutions – Leveraging innovative tech solutions to enhance the access and use of digital financial services
  • Driving financial inclusion – Increasing digital financial literacy and access to digital financial services, across any sector or application
  • Scaling commerce – Digitizing and optimizing the buying and selling of goods and services, across any sector, retail or online

For any questions, please contact us:

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