With the support of
Small businesses comprise 94% of all companies in the non-financial business sector (NFBS) across the European Union. These 22.7 million businesses form a crucial backbone of the EU economy, contributing nearly 20% of NFBS value added and employing almost 30% of the NFBS workforce.
The Mastercard Strive EU program aims to boost the resilience and growth of Europe’s small business community by supporting innovations that enable small businesses across the EU to get capital, go digital, and access networks and know-how. The program consists of a €4.5-million Innovation fund to navigate Europe’s twin transitions to a more digital and sustainable economy, cross-pollination of best practices across Europe’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, and efforts to better represent the needs of small businesses within the European Union.
The program is part of the global Mastercard Strive initiative, which aims to reach 18 million micro- and small businesses. Mastercard Strive EU is an initiative of Caribou and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, with philanthropic investment from the Mastercard Impact Fund. Caribou administers the Mastercard Strive EU program and serves as fund manager for the Innovation Fund. The team actively generates knowledge and synthesizes insights through engagements with the Mastercard Strive EU ecosystem, a dedicated Small Business Council, and EU policymakers to produce data-driven reports that inform decision-making, with support from the European Microfinance Network.
