According to research commissioned by the foundation, young African women face significant barriers in meeting these goals. Only 26% of girls in Africa finish secondary school, 34% are married before the age of 18, and teenage pregnancy rates are continuing to rise.

The effect of not addressing these challenges is profound, as the study also revealed that young African women have the potential to add $287 billion to the continent’s economy and create 23 million jobs by 2030. But to make that a reality, young women and girls need access to education and opportunities for growth.

Women-led, education-focused NGOs such as  CAMFED, or the Campaign for Female Education, and the Forum for African Women Educationalists, or FAWE, are focused on exactly that, which is why the Mastercard Foundation is continuing its partnerships and support with both organizations. The expanded partnership with the Mastercard Foundation will assist CAMFED in supporting 62,000 girls from Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ghana, and Malawi in accessing secondary and tertiary education, employment, and entrepreneurship, while FAWE will provide bursaries for women starting or innovating in a business.

“It’s all hands on deck – 2030 is around the corner. Twenty-three million young women in work means a stronger continent,” said Marieme-Esther Dassanou, director of gender programs at the Mastercard Foundation, explaining the broader benefit investing in young women has on society. “We don’t get to the Africa we want without young women at the forefront of it.”

Sitting down with Devex in New York, Dassanou explained why the organization focuses on education and employment in Africa, how it is supporting the vision of increasing young women’s contribution to Africa’s economy, and what she believes needs to be done to enable Africa’s women and girls to reach their full potential.