In March, Mastercard Lighthouse selected 6 unique companies for their inaugural MASSIV program, a half-year long development program for companies seeking to make a positive social impact on the world. Last week, contestants participated in a remote board review workshop during which advisory board members rated the companies and reviewed their progress. The MASSIV companies were given 7 minutes to remotely present their progress and end result to the board who graded them on 5 criteria: impact potential; partnership readiness; progress during the program; accountability; and North Star score (an evaluator of innovation). The majority of the companies concluded with an update on how coronavirus had affected their business strategy and how they were continuing to innovate despite the extenuating circumstances. It truly speaks to the creativity of these companies that they were able to persevere and evolve during these hard times.

All companies then had the opportunity to meet further with the advisory board in 30 minute one-on-one sessions. Afterwards, the advisory board made some determinations and together with Mastercard decided upon 3 finalists which they announced the next day at the Demo Day in collaboration with Copenhagen Fintech.

The next day a Demo Day was held remotely with the 6 Lighthouse MASSIV finalists alongside 4 startups from the Copenhagen Fintech Incubation program. We are grateful Copenhagen Fintech for helping to cohost the event and bring in new companies! Each company was given a short amount of time to pitch their idea to Nordic investors and partners, after which there was a Q&A session. At the conclusion of the event, the MASSIV finalists were announced – Desert Control, Jamii.one, and Normative!

was selected after showing a ground-breaking technology which tackles climate change by turning sand into workable soil within 7 hours.

“This has been a huge opportunity for us. Thanks to Mastercard, we have already formed new strategic partnerships across the globe. We and the other finalists have learnt a lot from each other during the program, and we are looking forward to meeting them in the final.“
– Ole Kristian Sivertsen, CEO

was chosen because they exhibited impressive progress throughout the program with a highly engaged team that has a promising, innovative approach.

“For Jamii.one to provide low-income families access to sustainable finance at scale, we need partnerships. This is why the Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIV program has added incredible value to us and why we are beyond thrilled and humbled to be selected as a program finalist!”
– Charlotte Rønje, CEO

was selected because they demonstrated great partnership readiness and convinced us that cooperation for the greater good lies also in the innovative infrastructure that they build for the sustainability movement.

“Super super happy about this! Slightly unexpected. This is a big leap for us, but still only the beginning. We will continue to develop and nourish the partnerships we have built during the program, to democratize sustainability accounting and transparency.”
– Kristian Rönn, CEO