Mastercard Strive EU Innovation Fund: Terms and Conditions

Strive EU is the latest addition to Strive, the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth’s global portfolio of philanthropic programs that support small businesses to thrive in the digital economy. The two-year program consists of a €4.5 million innovation fund, cross-pollination of best practices across Europe’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, and efforts to better represent the needs of small businesses within the European Union.

Strive EU is an initiative of Caribou Digital and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, with philanthropic investment from the Mastercard Impact Fund. The Strive EU program is implemented with support from the European Microfinance Network.

The Strive EU Innovation Fund (“the Fund”) is awarding €4.5 million of grants for digital and data-first solutions that support small businesses across the European Union. Up to 20 successful winners will receive up to €500,000 to validate and develop their solutions over a 12- to 18-month period. Grantees will receive mentoring, capacity-building support, access to select Mastercard resources, and opportunities for exposure and publicity.

Strive EU’s four innovation fund themes

The Fund is seeking projects that develop new solutions or innovative business models that support small businesses to: 

1. Unlock working capital and credit through embedded finance.
2. Go digital safely by bolstering cybersecurity.
3. Navigate evolving consumer preferences and regulatory expectations around environmental sustainability.
4. Harness artificial intelligence (AI) to save time and make money.

The Fund seeks innovative projects that depart from business-as-usual operations and support the growth of micro- and small enterprises with up to 10 employees.

Strive EU Innovation Fund grantees will receive:

1. Grant funding of up to €500,000. Funding is for a specific grant project and must be used within a 12- to 18-month period, as defined in the application. Requests of €250,000 and above require a 10% match funding component from another source.
2. Bespoke support from Strive and Mastercard teams, including insights from across the global Strive portfolio and beyond, and facilitated connections with potential partners when possible.
3. Access to select Mastercard Start Path resources, including recorded expert briefing sessions, pitch training, and venture capital pitching events.
4. Mentorship from best-in-class industry experts. Grantees will be paired with mentors who will provide tailored support to empower grantees to navigate challenges, leverage opportunities, and chart a course towards sustainable growth and impact.
5. Visibility. Grantees will gain exposure and publicity through a series of hosted events and a co-created communications campaign.
6. Mastercard Award for Extraordinary Impact. Projects that dramatically exceed impact targets will be nominated to receive an additional award from Mastercard.

All applications must be received via the online application system, Submittable (“the portal”). No applications will be accepted, for any reason, after the deadline.

Key dates in the application process in 2024 are as follows. URL to application page.

Applications are subject to the following terms.

• Applications must be submitted in English. Grant management and reporting will be in English. Efforts will be made to support other languages where possible.
• Funding requests can range from €100,000 to €500,000. At least 10% match funding is required for requests of €250,000 and above (see matching requirements).
• The use of AI tools in the creation of application responses is strongly discouraged as it can exacerbate bias in a merit-based process. While AI can provide valuable assistance in drafting responses, it is not always equipped to adequately address specific questions. Applicants are advised to demonstrate their true and authentic talent.
• Shortlisted applicants must present and substantiate their project budget and rationale for the requested funding amount. Shortlisted applicants will be asked to complete a mini proposal which includes a short series of questions, a high/level project plan, and a pitch for jury selection. Shortlisted applicants may be asked to share documentation for verification (see Appendix I for examples).
• Shortlisted applicants invited to the finalist stage agree to work with the Caribou Digital team, take onboard relevant feedback, and complete a short pitch to the selection committee during the week commencing June 24, 2024, for the Judging Showcase. This Judging Showcase will determine the winners of the Innovation Fund.
• Funding is contingent upon agreement with Caribou Digital’s Grant Agreement (which will be shared with shortlisted applicants) without significant alterations.
• Feedback or complaints should be sent to the Strive team at hello@strivecommunity.org. Strive is committed to maintaining a fair, transparent, and inclusive process. Should an applicant encounter any form of discrimination or unfair treatment during the process, they may report it confidentially through Caribou Digital’s independent whistleblowing page.

• Grants will be provided for the designated project purpose.
• Disbursement of funds will be contingent upon the successful completion of agreed milestones, as verified by the Fund Manager at Caribou Digital.
• As events are a key component of support provided by Strive EU, a small amount of the grant will be ring-fenced to cover event attendance. Grantees are expected to attend a minimum of one in-person and three virtual events during the project.
• Grantees agree to share learnings, insights, and co-agreed data with the Caribou Digital team through the grant period in order to support Strive’s learning agenda.

Eligibility criteria:

Proposals will be selected using four criteria.

Caribou Digital recognizes that perspectives of people from all backgrounds and abilities are imperative to realizing an equitable and inclusive digital economy. Therefore, the Strive EU program is consciously designed to ensure appropriate access and representation for all.

The Fund mandates a minimum of 10% matching contribution from applicants applying for over €250,000 in order to demonstrate applicant confidence in and commitment to the solution. While there are no specific additional criteria for applying for over €250,000, at this level there will be additional scrutiny and higher expectations around demonstrated potential to scale or catalyze funding from other sources. Acceptance of match funding is subject to the Fund Manager’s approval.

• Applicants must contribute at least 10% of a requested grant amount of €250,000 to €500,000. For instance, if an applicant seeks €300,000 from the Fund, a minimum contribution of €30,000 from other sources is required.
• Matching contributions must be secured and available to spend before the start of the grant period. Acceptance of matching funds is at the discretion of the Fund Manager. Acceptance will not be unreasonably withheld. For instance, if funds were received within six months of the application date, this would be considered acceptable.
• All matching funds must be utilized for the proposed project and within the grant period.
• Contributions from existing Mastercard funding will not be considered.
• Contributions can be made in cash, in kind, or some combination thereof.

The Innovation Fund is operated and managed by Caribou Digital (UK) Ltd. Caribou Digital is accountable to you for holding and processing of your information, including any personal data and confidential information. Data is held in accordance with Caribou Digital’s policies, in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (EU 2016/679) and the UK Data Protection Act 2018. Accordingly, Caribou Digital will be data controllers and processors for personal data submitted during the application.

Caribou Digital UK Ltd.’s Privacy Policy related to the Strive EU Innovation Fund. Hyperlink to this

By applying via the application portal, Submittable, you consent to your data being processed by Caribou Digital, including its contractors, in order to assess your application.

In accordance with our contractual obligations, information may be shared with the Innovation Fund donor, Mastercard Impact Fund, or their affiliate, the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. Mastercard’s Global Privacy Notice covers both entities.  Sharing information with Mastercard employees involves the transfer of your data outside of the European Economic Area, for which we have a legally binding agreement to protect the transfer of your data.

Applicants who are shortlisted will be invited to complete a mini proposal. This proposal will be shared with a technical review panel consisting of 4 to 6 people, who will assess the application.

A summary of applications that progress to the final stage will be shared with the Strive EU Small Business Council, who will determine the eventual winners. The Small Business Council will consist of 10 to 12 people from European companies.

By applying via the portal, you consent to the terms and conditions set out by the portal owner, Submittable Holdings, Inc., 101 E. Front St, Suite #500, Missoula, MT, 59802. Caribou Digital are not responsible or liable for data collected or processed by Submittable. Learn more about Submittable’s privacy policy and Submittable’s approach to GDPR.

The Information Commissioner’s Office has more information on data protection in the UK and there is more information on the EU GDPR webpage.

To establish eligibility during the application process, applicants are required to upload documents after shortlisting. Documentation requests may include but are not limited to:

1. Company registration
2. Insurance documents
3. Company policies:
4. GDPR
5. Finance and procurement
6. Anti-corruption and anti-bribery
7. Conflict of interest
8. Health and safety
9. HR policies including whistleblowing
10. Data / privacy policy 
11. Last two years financial reports

Project life cycle refers to an innovation’s development stage and ambition. Eligible projects should be at least in the Product Definition stage and ready to demonstrate a more mature phase has been achieved by the end of the project. Projects requesting higher grant amounts must demonstrate high potential for scale. Please refer to the six stages of product development below.

• Ideation: Initial idea generation phase, including defined business case, product functionality, and identified target market.
• Product Definition: Scoping and concept phase defining the product strategy. This stage includes business analysis, value proposition, marketing strategy, and success metric definition.
• Prototyping: Early stage prototype, including a sketch or a more elaborated computer-rendered initial design. Following the studies on the initial design, the outcome of the prototyping stage is a minimum viable product (MVP).
• Detailed Design: With the engagement of stakeholders and prioritizing users' needs, a mockup is produced. It is an elaborated version of the previous MVP.
• Validation and Testing: Iterative validation phase to implement user feedback based on the front-end and marketing plan testing.
• Commercialization: Finalizing product specifications based on the iterated MVP; preparation for launch and scale across different customer segments and geographies.