Mastercard Start Path selects six fintech innovators to build the future of sustainable lending, blockchain-powered social impact and more

Digital Reinvention
03/05/2021News
Financial technology has made it possible to bring more people into the digital economy faster and more seamlessly than ever before. At Mastercard, we embrace the opportunity to partner with fintech companies to help drive inclusion at scale and deliver solutions focused on doing well and doing good. Today we are pleased to welcome six scaling startups to our award-winning Mastercard Start Path program, from companies building blockchain-based payments solutions with the aim of humanizing finance to startups designing sustainable lending platforms to close the small business credit gap in emerging markets.
“As the fintech landscape evolves at an unprecedented speed, Mastercard provides the infrastructure and assets to help fintech innovators grow and ultimately bring more people into the digital economy,” said Amy Neale, Senior Vice President, Fintech & Enablers. “The newest Start Path companies represent the future of the fintech industry and are designing inclusive solutions that anticipate consumer needs – we’re thrilled to partner with these innovators on their path to scale.”

Start Path brings together a diverse network of innovators who are looking to accelerate the way they change the world. Mastercard works intimately with these startups through a six-month program where they can take advantage of Mastercard technology, expertise and resources to rapidly scale their business. The startups receive direct access to the company’s channels, customers and product teams as well as immersive virtual events and programming to uncover co-innovation opportunities.

Mastercard has selected the following fintech innovators with global ambitions to join Start Path:

Asante Financial Services is a provider of high impact digital financial services that supports Africa's growth through sustainable lending for underserved small businesses and individuals.

Cledara is an all-in-one software as a service (SaaS) management platform that helps companies manage, control and automate their cloud software, enabling them to scale their operational processes, comply with regulations and save money.

Jifiti offers an end-to-end consumer financing solution for banks and lenders to quickly launch a white-labeled buy now, pay later solution requiring zero point-of-sale integration.

Moeda Seeds offers digital banking, payment and micro credit services powered by blockchain that aim to humanize finance and distribute social impact.

SpenDebt's SaaS payment solution is a frictionless way for consumers to automate their debt repayments through a predefined micropayment deducted at every transaction.

Tippy is the modern tip disbursement engine built for cashless tipping in the service industry, saving owners processing fees while increasing tips and delivering them to service professionals’ accounts in real time.

Digital Reinvention community

With Qorus memberships, you gain access to exclusive innovation best practices and tailored matchmaking opportunities with executives who share your challenges.

Related news & insights

Digital Reinvention
06/05/2025News

PayPal’s boldest bet yet: Going head-to-head with cash in German retail

"Better Than Cash" isn’t just a slogan—It’s PayPal’s new retail strategy

Digital Reinvention
05/05/2025News

NatWest introduces family-backed mortgage to boost first-time buyer affordability

Family-backed lending meets strategic affordability shifts in a move that could rattle competitors.

Digital Reinvention
01/05/2025Article

Financial Innovation Spotlight – April 2025 edition

Here are five standout projects that grabbed our attention, from AXA in France, Maybank in Malaysia, Westpac in Australia, Assurant...

Digital Reinvention
30/04/2025Article

What banks need to know to prepare for the impacts of the FiDA regulation

The EU’s proposed Financial Data Access (FiDA) framework promises transformative impacts for banks and other financial institutions.

SME Banking
30/04/2025News

Wirex unveils new banking platform tailored for Web3 and crypto businesses

The platform delivers a full suite of financial tools to help these businesses manage their operations securely and efficiently in...

ESG
30/04/2025News

Danske Bank strengthens ESG support for business customers

Danske Bank has announced a new partnership with sustainability software provider Position Green to enhance its ESG (Environmental, Social, and...

Digital Reinvention
21/04/2025News

Robinhood unveils new suite of financial tools for gold members

Innovative offerings aim to make wealth management, banking, and investing more accessible

Digital Reinvention
18/04/2025Video

AI for ESG: 6 powerful ways data and machine learning are driving sustainable success

Julien Defossé, Worldwide FSI Market Development Lead at AWS, presents the main findings of the report The AI Imperative: Navigating...