Mastercard Foundation Fund for Alumni Start-ups in Transition (FAST) Program 2026 – YOA

Deadline: March 20, 2026

Applications are open for the Mastercard Foundation Fund for Alumni Start-ups in Transition (FAST) Program 2026. FAST helps and empowers the subsequent era of entrepreneurs by offering enterprise assist and connecting individuals to enterprise improvement coaching and a supportive community of like-minded entrepreneurs and mentors.

FAST is a partnership of the Mastercard Foundation with CCHub Nigeria, MDF Global, Concree, Scale up, Savannah Innovations Lab, the Center for Enterprising Organizations, Inkomoko, and the Africa Leadership Academy (ALA).

Benefits

Participants will achieve entry to funding, enterprise improvement coaching, and a supportive community of like-minded entrepreneurs and mentors.

• Idea Phase: An common of USD $3,000 (as much as $5,000) to assist develop and refine preliminary concepts.
• Build Phase: An common of USD $12,500 (as much as $15,000) to rework the concepts into viable enterprise fashions.

Eligibility

FAST is open to aspiring entrepreneurs or these in the early levels of their entrepreneurship journey. It provides a novel OPPORTUNITY for Alumni from the next applications:

• Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI)
• African Leadership Academy (ALA)
• Anzisha Prize
• Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program

Note: Applicants who’re nearing commencement can obtain a provisional acceptance letter and, upon finishing their research, be a part of the subsequent cohort.

Application

Applicants should submit documentation in the application that confirms their Alumni standing for one of many following applications: Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, African Leadership Academy, Anzisha Prize, or Young African Leaders Initiative.

• Alumni from the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program might want to present a scholar ID from the establishment they attended. This ID can be used to confirm your Scholars Program Alumni standing.
• Alumni from African Leadership Academy, Anzisha Prize, or Young African Leaders Initiative can use the English FAST verification letter or present a distinct type of verification, similar to a certificates of completion.

Click here to apply

For extra info, go to Mastercard Foundation FAST Program.