Mastercard Foundation Impact in Career Development and AWS Skills Builder

Africa’s future depends on equipping young people with advanced education, relevant digital skills, and opportunities to translate knowledge into meaningful careers and innovative enterprises. This session will explore the impact of the Mastercard Foundation in expanding access to quality education, including master’s degrees, postgraduate studies, scholarships, and other educational programmes that enable talented young Africans to overcome financial and structural barriers to academic and professional advancement.
The session will examine how educational opportunities, leadership development, mentorship, and industry partnerships can help graduates build careers in technology, engineering, healthcare, financial services, agriculture, climate innovation, and entrepreneurship. It will highlight the importance of connecting university education to real-world challenges, enabling African graduates to become researchers, technology professionals, entrepreneurs, and leaders who contribute to economic growth and sustainable development across the continent.
A key focus will be the role of Amazon Web Services (AWS) and its AWS Skill Builder platform in strengthening university-based digital skills development. AWS Skill Builder provides online learning resources, practical cloud training, and preparation for AWS Certifications, helping students complement their academic qualifications with industry-relevant competencies. Universities can integrate these learning resources into their curricula, laboratories, boot camps, research programmes, and career-readiness initiatives to prepare students for opportunities in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, data analytics, cybersecurity, and software development.
The session will also explore how universities can connect scholarship beneficiaries and other learners with practical projects, industry mentors, internships, innovation hubs, and entrepreneurship support. By aligning access to education with digital skills development and industry engagement, the Mastercard Foundation’s education and youth-development initiatives and AWS learning resources can contribute to a stronger pathway from education to employability, innovation, and African-led development.
Key discussion areas
- Access to advanced education: How scholarships and university partnerships enable talented African students to pursue master’s degrees and other eligible educational programmes.
- Career development: The role of mentorship, internships, professional networks, and graduate placement programmes in transitioning students into meaningful employment.

Mastercard Foundation
- Digital skills in universities: Integrating AWS Skill Builder into university learning through cloud computing, AI, cybersecurity, data analytics, practical labs, and certification preparation.

AWS
- Innovation and entrepreneurship: Encouraging students to use their academic knowledge and cloud technologies to develop solutions for African challenges in agriculture, healthcare, financial inclusion, climate resilience, and public services.
- Inclusive opportunities: Expanding access to education and digital careers for young women, refugees, displaced persons, and young people living with disabilities.