Mastercard Foundation Scholar's Program launches Climate Enterprise School magazine for Mastercard Foundation Scholars

In July 2025, Mastercard Foundation Scholars at the University of Edinburgh gathered in the Tshimologong Precinct in Johannesburg for the eight-day Winter Climate Enterprise School. Together with students from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), they were challenged to co-create solutions to the global climate crisis while forming lifelong connections from around the world.

To celebrate the experience, two Mastercard Foundation Scholars compiled a 47-page magazine titled ‘The Climate Enterprise School: Innovating for a Sustainable Future’, detailing the Mastercard Foundation Scholars’ stories from the trip and the lessons that have stuck with them.

The Climate Enterprise School magazine

“When we began working on this journal, we set out to build a space for reflection, courage, and ideas that refuse to stay small,” say editors and Mastercard Foundation Scholars, Edgar Onyango and Mwende Kasyoki.

“We hope readers find in these pages not just information, but possibilities for collaboration, for needful questions, for impact beyond our communities. We are proud of every contributor, we are grateful for the support of our community, and we are excited to see where these ideas travel next.”

Through personal articles, Q&As and images, the magazine recounts key moments from the programme through the eyes of more than 25 Mastercard Foundation Scholars.

Euphrasia Atieno writes about the moment she stayed silent when she knew her team’s idea wasn’t working: “In climate work, silence isn’t neutral, and neither is comfort.”. Irene Gimbo talks about her experience as part of the all-women’s team that won Best Prototype and Best Business Plan at the Climate Enterprise School. Steve, a Mastercard Foundation Scholar with a hearing impairment, shares his story about how his presence reshaped how the cohort understood connection and inclusion.

Program Manager for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at the University of Edinburgh, Sharon Boateng, writes in the opening pages: “The week went by so quickly… I’m grateful we get to hold onto these memories a little while longer through these amazing, personal stories.”

“Being part of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program community at the University of Edinburgh has consistently challenged us to think beyond achievement and toward impact,” say Edgar and Mwende. “This journal is an extension of that ethos. It reflects a generation of thinkers and leaders who are not content with observation alone; no, those who want transformation.”

For the editors, this issue was about engaging carefully with the stories and asking themselves the hard questions around who is being heard, what perspectives they might be overlooking, and what it means to hold someone else’s words in their hands.

With support from the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Entrepreneurship Fund (SEF), the Mastercard Foundation Scholars’ experience in Johannesburg is already leading to change across the globe. Teddy Arach is registering She4Change in Uganda, supporting African communities through education, mentorship, entrepreneurship. Olumide Shode has launched BuildMate across borders, matching skilled Nigerian tech talent with global businesses. Khalid Ahmed is piloting Sahab Solar, providing hybrid solar energy systems to rural healthcare clinics in conflict-affected areas of Sudan.

Natalie Makgamathe from Tshimologong wrote in the final pages that “Tshimologong means ‘new beginnings.’ And something started here. Not just a space with walls and Wi-Fi, but a pulse. A soft ignition. A circle of chairs that became a community. Something started here, and we suspect it won’t be easy to stop.” 

Edgar and Mwende agree: “She is right. It won’t.”