SMEs to benefit from Mastercard’s and Meta’s Digitization Partnership

Mastercard and Meta, formerly Facebook, have established a partnership to help the digitization and growth of SMEs in the Middle East and Africa.

The two companies will host a training webinar on December 8 that will provide SMEs with insights from industry experts as well as a lesson on how to manage uncertainty from renowned author Nathan Furr.

Meta’s Vice President of Middle East, Africa, and Turkey, Derya Matras, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to assisting small and medium enterprises that are still facing issues as a result of COVID-19.

“We have an important role to play, providing the necessary digital skills for startups and small businesses to survive, recover and deliver results online and offline.” Matras

The Vice President noted that they are continuing with their efforts to train SMEs in partnership with Mastercard which boosts the start-up economic system positively impacting socio-economic growth across the Middle East and Africa. 

According to Mastercard, the training is timely for SME owners to have access to the necessary resources, insights, tools, and solutions in order to recover from the pandemic’s effects and grow.

“Our partnership with Meta will help support SME growth in the region, small businesses form the backbone of local communities, driving the growth of the global economy.” Mastercard

According to the Mastercard MEA SME Confidence Index for 2021, 74% of SMEs in the region are confident about future growth, owing to the possibilities for digitization, better data, financing availability, and upskilling.

Mastercard has pledged to invest USD250 million over the next five years to help small businesses throughout the world become more financially secure, as well as connect 50 million small enterprises, including 25 million women entrepreneurs, to the digital economy by 2025.