The University of Oxford and the Mastercard Foundation have an innovative and ambitious partnership under the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program and the Africa Oxford Initiative (AfOx). The partnership is set to provide 400 young African scholars with a fully-funded opportunity to pursue taught Masters degrees in programmes related to pandemic preparedness and recovery at the University of Oxford.

The Mastercard Foundation AfOx Scholarship programme supports passionate, locally rooted and globally minded African young people to undertake graduate studies at the University of Oxford. The Mastercard Foundation AfOx Scholarship programme is grounded in the Mastercard Foundation, and AfOx shared values of collegiality, empathy, commitment, inclusion and community. The Scholarship is part of the broader AfOx Graduate Scholars Program, which aims to support African students to access opportunities at Oxford and to thrive both during and after their time at the University.

The Scholarship funds a rigorous one-year taught Master’s course at Oxford aimed at equipping the Scholars with relevant technical, entrepreneurial and leadership skills and connecting them to world-leading resources in their respective sectors. Key elements of the scholarship programme include adequate support and preparation for students to take up their studies, intensive emphasis on life skills beyond academia and support for a lifelong network of alumni. Each Scholar will benefit from the highest calibre training in specific disciplines critical to solving pressing problems, including food systems, health sciences, sustainable water and energy systems, governance and public policy, and entrepreneurship, among others. Their programs will centre the four AfOx themes relevant to Africa’s Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals: Healthy People, Integrated Societies, Green Futures, and Innovation for Prosperity.

An important and innovative aspect of the program is the “Ubuntu period of service” undertaken upon completion of the Master’s degree. During this second year of the Program, the Scholars will be supported and encouraged to design and deliver impactful projects based on African organisations, which could include launching start-ups and working in multinational development agencies, governments, NGOs or research institutions.

The scholarship specifically emphasises groups who have historically been under-represented, including but not limited to female scholars, people from refugee and displaced backgrounds and scholars with accessibility needs.  A cohort of 20 Mastercard Foundation AfOx Scholars studying various academic disciplines, including global health, engineering, public policy, law, and refugees and forced migration Studies, began their studies in the 2022 academic year. This group of emerging African leaders come from 13 African counties and are members of 9 Oxford colleges.