“Mastercard Foundation’s agreement was not terminated due to a breach,” Bongani Sithole, 54 Collective’s CEO

In February 2025, over 40 employees at 54 Collective, an early-stage venture studio that helped African founders build their startups, received shocking news. Their firm was shutting down, and they were being laid off. At the time, it was almost unheard of for an African venture firm to lay off employees and shut down, but when Mastercard Foundation pulled its funding, the capital to support…