Case Study — MasterCard Foundation Grant

How a Founder
Got $100k
in Funding

Most founders think they're rejected because their idea isn't good enough.
But in reality, they're rejected because they weren't investor-ready — and didn't know it.

Read the story

The gap between impact
and investor-readiness

When we started working with Dr. Aderinsola, founder of I-Train Africa, the business had real momentum — but the financials couldn't prove it.
Sales records, but not reconciled
Bank statements that didn't match
No traction report
No audited financial reports
No management accounts

She wasn't lacking impact. She wasn't lacking progress.
She was lacking investor-ready financials — the kind that persuades decision-makers to take you seriously.

Her application wasn't going to stand a chance
Investors would see "risk" instead of traction
Her grant opportunity was going to slip away

So here's exactly what we did — step by step — to turn everything around.

Four steps to become
investor-ready

01
Clean Foundation

We cleaned the previous months' financials

We reconciled every sale with the bank statements and organized expenses and revenue properly. In a few weeks, she went from "unreconciled financials" to a complete financial picture investors could trust.

A clean Profit & Loss statement
A clear balance sheet
An audited financial statement
Detailed management accounts
A story investors could actually trust

This alone removes 70% of the rejection risk.

02
Financial Model

We built a defendable financial model

Not guesswork. Not hopeful projections. A model that showed exactly how the business makes money — and why it will keep growing.

How she makes money
Her growth path
Unit economics
Margins

This is what tells investors: "This founder understands the numbers behind the business."

03
Impact Report

We created an Impact & Traction Report that impressed the grant team

Most founders talk about impact but don't quantify anything. We turned her story into something tangible, credible, and compelling.

A clean traction snapshot
Attendance numbers
Conference outcomes
Progress across the years
The real profit the business had been generating
04
The Win

She applied with confidence and won $100,000

Her application wasn't just submitted — it was taken seriously. Because she could walk into any room and defend every number.

Clean books
A real financial model
Traction proof
An impact report
A founder who could defend her numbers confidently

Grantors saw what she brought
to the table. They trusted the numbers.

She secured $100,000 from the MasterCard Foundation. Not because her idea changed — because the story her financials told finally matched her reality.

$100k
MasterCard Foundation Grant I-Train Africa — Dr. Aderinsola
Clean books
Real financial model
Traction proof
Impact report
Confident founder
"
The truth is this: if our books were not impeccably maintained and investor-ready, there is no way I-Train Africa would have been selected for the MasterCard Foundation EdTech Fellowship 2025 which came with a 100,000 USD grant. Snumari's work directly contributed to that milestone.
Aderinsola Adio-Adepoju (PhD)
Founder, I-Train Africa

The same process.
More founders funded.

$100k
HiPrep — Adanma
Education Technology
£25k
Tiny Hearts Tech — Virtue Oboro
Health Technology
$700k+
I-Metro
Transport Company, Abuja

Now it's your
turn to get
funded.

We've helped founders across Africa get funded — and it almost always starts with uncovering what's quietly holding them back.

Click below and let's figure out what's standing in your way.

Let's Get You Funded →