Unlike traditional accelerators and corporate innovation programs, Lighthouse MASSIV is free and focused primarily on helping impact companies achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals by scaling globally. By partnering with startups that have a high potential to improve the prosperity and security of the planet, the program aims to help one billion people live more prosperous and secure lives by 2025. The companies joining the program this spring have been chosen because of their desire and ability to scale sustainable partnerships. Mastercard, together with Invenio Growth, its partner in running Lighthouse, hopes to enhance these collaborations to achieve the vision of making the world a more prosperous and secure place. MEET THE SPRING CLASS OF LIGHTHOUSE MASSIV: Addressya – The Swedish-based company allows individuals to register a complete, precise, and easy to use address with their addressing as a service solution. “We are super excited to have been selected for the Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIV program, and to get the opportunity to work with Mastercard and its partners to help Addressya grow and contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.” – Karoline Beronius, CEO at Addressya Viveo Health – The Estonia-based e-health provider has the purpose to make healthcare accessible to everyone with their complete virtual clinic for doctors. “As all our actions have always been focused on bringing healthcare to 1 billion people, we are deeply honored and humbled to be part of Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIV, a partnership that will certainly help people around the globe get better access to healthcare.” – Raul Källo, CEO at Viveo Health SPENN – The Norwegian mobile banking company allows people in developing countries to deposit, spend, and save money cost-free. “As a digital banking platform determined to unite the unbanked with the banked population, SPENN is very excited to be participating in the prestigious Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIV program. We believe that we have created an innovative and unique solution that empowers people to send and receive money completely cost-free, in markets where typically the cost of financial services is the highest in the world. Both Mastercard and SPENN share the vision of helping 1 billion people live more prosperous and secure lives by 2025.” – Magne Fretheim, CTO at SPENN Farmforce – The Norwegian company enables transparency and digital management in agricultural value chains with their cloud-hosted web and mobile platform. “We are proud and excited to be selected for this program. Partnerships are essential to scale commercially and deliver on our impact goals. As part of this program, we look forward to interacting with experts, to being challenged and to building strong partnerships to support our vision of building trust and transparency in food value chains.” – Anne Jorun Aas, CEO at Farmforce DDFinance – The Norwegian company scales digital, low-cost national insurance marketplaces and distribution systems in developing countries. “We build and scale digital insurance market systems, to enable affordable health and life insurance for the majority populations of low-income families. Rigorous execution jointly with partners is at the core for us to succeed. We are thus really excited to be included in the Lighthouse MASSIV program and look forward to working together with former and new participants and partners to scale the social impact we are set up to provide” – Jan Martin Hunderi, CEO at DDFinance Since its launch at the end of 2019, the program featured companies like Desert Control, whose agritech nanoclay technology is one of the promising technologies turning deserted land into fertile land. Our most recent program included PlasticFri, which offers plant-based and eco-friendly products for replacing fossil-based plastics, and Molecular Attraction, a company combatting vector-borne diseases like malaria, dengue and zika. Other companies in the previous programs include Jamii.one and Hiveonline, which both focus on financial inclusion and bringing more African women into the formal economy. “We are well underway with executing on Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIV’s vision to help companies focused on doing good for the world to scale through partnerships. MASSIV is an open innovation program based on the format of commitment and accountability, which means that we help companies partner with a strong ecosystem of players and achieve impactful, accountability-driven results.” ADVISORY BOARD As part of the Lighthouse MASSIV program, companies receive feedback and support from advisory board members with diverse and impressive backgrounds, such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Walt Disney Company Nordics, Synch and Nordic Impact Funds. These board members represent sustainability experts, investors, and executives, each with their own global network: “I am truly impressed by the innovative partnerships built during the Lighthouses MASSIV program. These innovative and impactful solutions only become truly impactful when scaled up significantly. Many startups believe that they just need to raise more capital; but often designing and building the right partnerships could be the key to both scaling and capital” “Serving on the Advisory Board to the MASSIV program and working with the ambitious and dedicated entrepreneurs is so energizing and also gives good comfort that we will indeed manage the future global challenges.” PARTNER BANKS Mastercard collaborates with banking partners Swedbank and Danske Bank on the Lighthouse MASSIV initiative, all aiming at doing well by doing good on both sustainability and social impact: “Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIV, a partnership platform where innovation and financial services join hands to accelerate the transition to create a sustainable society. From talking to doing.” “Start-ups have the ability to find the innovative solutions that fit the global sustainability problems and scale with speed. It is amazing to be part of the MASSIV program and help them accelerate even more” ABOUT LIGHTHOUSE MASSIV Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIV is an open innovation platform designed to make and scale social impact and achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals with the format of long-term partnerships. By providing teams with competitive incentives and preferential access to partner resources, Lighthouse MASSIV aims to foster partnerships that will enrich the lives of one billion people by 2025. Lighthouse MASSIV is designed as a three-stage program. At the first stage, the companies meet with our advisory board, a hand-picked group of executives and partnership experts from around the world, who aim to bring a specific partnership to life. Each partnership proposal receives input from global experts in legal, design, and technology before reporting the results of their partnership endeavors back to the advisory board. The winner of the program is the team that demonstrates the potential to impact the most people via partnership. Mastercard announces its third Lighthouse MASSIV class
Lighthouse MASSIV, Mastercard’s social impact partnership program dedicated to finding and scaling the next impact unicorn, is pleased to announce its spring class that will be supported by advisors from a.o. Swedbank, Danske Bank, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Synch and Nordic Impact Funds.
Mats Taraldsson
Head of Digital Development and Fintech Engagement, Mastercard Nordics and Baltics
Lisbeth Zacho
Co-Founder and Partner at Nordic Impact Funds
Jim Runsten
Founder and CEO at Synch
Fredrik Nilzén
Head of Group Sustainability at Swedbank
Mikkel Skott Olsen
Head of +impact at Danske Bank