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When small business wins, everyone wins

Empowering 50 million small businesses and beyond to thrive in the digital economy

 

Every small business belongs to something bigger: a community. Whether it’s a bookstore owner in Blacksburg, Va., or boutique dress material designer in Andhra Pradesh, each business contributes something unique to how people in their community live and define themselves. We're dedicated to empowering every business and their broader communities, meeting them where they are on their journey with solutions that are reliable, effective and safe.

As the backbone of communities, micro, small and medium-size enterprises contribute to local and national economies and to sustaining livelihoods – they account for 90% of businesses, as much as 70% of jobs and half of gross domestic product worldwide. Yet many small business owners around the world face challenges in accepting digital payments due to a lack of infrastructure.

In 2020, we made a commitment to bring 50 million of these businesses into the digital economy through payments acceptance by 2025. By harnessing our technology, network, partnerships and philanthropy, we have met that goal – with more work to continue. Through commercially viable products and services as well as philanthropic efforts, we’re empowering small businesses that are powering economies and communities around the world.

After all, the stronger the small business, the stronger the community.

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Empowering every business

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25 million and counting

Women entrepreneurs face unique barriers to success, from challenges in obtaining funding to inadequate access to basic financial services and tools, but a world that works better for women creates limitless possibilities for us all. That’s why Mastercard is committed to building an inclusive digital economy where everyone prospers and providing these women-owned small businesses with solutions that can help them grow and thrive. By harnessing technology, philanthropy and its network of partners, we’ve reached 25 million women entrepreneurs, with more work and support to continue.

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Power of
partnership

Hear from four of our partners to learn how we are empowering small and medium enterprises to build, grow and protect their business. Discover what's possible when you partner with Mastercard.

Watch

Inside the mind of an entrepreneur

Michal Prevor
Owner, Babka Bailout

The pandemic devastated the restaurant industry, but it also gave rise to a new generation of food entrepreneurs harnessing the power of digitization and social media. Michal Prevor started Babka Bailout as a fundraiser but it soon bloomed into a full-time business. 

Karen Beeler
Owner, Life in Bloom

Karen Beeler transformed her passion for floristry into a thriving brick-and-mortar business, Life in Bloom. Embracing digitization, Karen's journey from a single room in her home during the pandemic to a bustling floral studio highlights the power of technology in expanding opportunities.

Omar Serrano
Owner, Era Tattoo Studio

Wendi and Mike Rawson 
Owners, Engine 8 Urban Winery

Diana Spain
Founder, Kicks Mix Books

Busayo Olupona
Founder, Busayo NYC

Andrea Salgado
Founder, Sailor Coffee

Amy Yeung
Founder, Orenda Tribe

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Stories, blogs, research and more

research

A lift in U.S. small business longevity

Small businesses are facing headwinds from elevated inflation and high interest rates but are benefiting from robust growth in consumer demand for goods and services and omnichannel retailing. Which sectors have the highest and lowest survival rates? Are survival rates higher for services sectors or for retail? The Mastercard Economics Institute digs into the numbers. 

Read more
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What 3 things small businesses need to do next
Story
From hops to hospitality: How a Montana family opened a craft beer tap room in their hometown
Q&A
How Kevin Kim’s immigrant story fuels NYC’s small businesses
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The 7 questions small business owners always ask me — and the 1 question I wish they would
Small Business
How digital payments ignite small business success and financial inclusion
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Joanna Griffiths is disrupting period care with high-tech underwear
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Righteous feats: This creator is using his platform to save New York City's small restaurants
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For this ‘solopreneur,’ it takes a village to bake a business
Blog
When we connect women entrepreneurs to capital, the whole world wins
Research
Inside the rise of cyberattacks on small businesses
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All work is all play for this wellness entrepreneur
Q&A
‘What’s good for Black women entrepreneurs is good for all entrepreneurs'
Story
A can-‘do’ attitude made the difference for this wig and hair-loss entrepreneur
Story
In Prague, a mother and daughter baked up a business. Digital sweetened the deal
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In pursuit of clothing their kids, these Brazilian women stitched together a business
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Chocolate is their heritage, but these Bronx brothers are looking to the future
Video
Busayo Olupona is harnessing tradition with designs on the future
Story
Digital tools for virtual hands: How VR training can help the smallest businesses grow
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Smoke on the green: A pitmaster takes her shot
Story
Sweetening the recovery for San Diego's Asian businesses
Story
When the economy stumbled, these Black entrepreneurs rose up
Blog
Making supply chains more inclusive and secure
Story
A pandemic, then a pivot. Now this Black entrepreneur is empowering others
Story
Surviving 2021 required reinventing everything from burritos to banking
Story
Tips to help small businesses thrive despite COVID-19 tremors
Story
This small business repurposes electronics waste — and gives people with autism more purpose
Story
In Indonesia, mentors are helping turn entrepreneurial spirit into business success
Story
This chef found creativity and a new business in the middle of the pandemic
Video
In Mexico, digital ‘angels’ teach women lifelong business skills
Video
Great adaptations: How small businesses can beat back big challenges
Story
For Madrid’s hospitality industry, hope and anxiety are on the menu
Q&A
Q&A with Bank of America: How small businesses are changing
Story
Lifting up minority-owned brands, one brunch box at a time
Blog
4 ways governments can help small businesses flourish in a post-COVID world
Story
How open banking is giving a San Diego coffee roastery the jolt of capital to thrive
Story
Elevating Atlanta’s Black entrepreneurs takes a ‘Village’
Story
How restaurant owners can protect themselves from takeout fake-outs
Video
Taking it to go: A coffee entrepreneur’s pandemic lessons
Blog
How I became the investor of my dreams
Video
Standing up startups: Advice from eight women fintech founders
Story
Black-owned restaurants have supported their neighbors. Now they need help
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A small D.C. daycare takes its first steps to recovery
Story
How DA SPOT NYC pivoted to survive the pandemic
Story
This Brooklyn lunch spot cooks up career paths for refugees — and a mean biscuit too
Blog
Davos Agenda: How to help small businesses survive the digital revolution
Story
This leadership program helped an entrepreneur in Honduras weather the pandemic
Story
How an entrepreneur transformed her small business – and helped others – during COVID-19
Blog
The urgency of unlocking capital for underserved businesses