What Visa Foundation does

Visa Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Visa Inc., established to advance inclusive economic outcomes for under-served individuals, businesses, and communities. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Foster City, California, the Foundation operates as a private non-profit funded entirely by Visa Inc. and does not sell commercial products or services. Since 2020 it has committed over $350 million across more than 150 global partners, with stated impact of supporting 12 million small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and facilitating 14 million jobs. Its programmatic portfolio spans SMB capacity-building, women entrepreneurship (RevUp Women Nigeria with AfriLabs, FIFA-aligned Pro Mujer grant), disability-inclusive entrepreneurship (three-year SEED Inclusivity Programme with Seedstars across India, Indonesia, and Vietnam), and climate innovation (Greentech Europe 2024 accelerator with Village Capital).

The Foundation's "products" are grants, programmatic funding, and limited-partner (LP) commitments channelled through a curated network of implementation partners. Its largest disclosed institutional commitment is participation as an LP in Partech's €300 million Impact Fund, which is approximately 40% deployed across European B2B technology companies focused on decarbonisation and digitisation, alongside Allianz, EIF, Bpifrance, British Business Bank, and Neuberger Berman. Additional capital is deployed via the FIFA World Cup 2026 "Tap In to Impact" initiative ($600,000 across SCORE, Futurpreneur, and Pro Mujer) and bespoke accelerator sponsorships.

The Foundation's business model is structurally non-commercial: 100% of funding is sourced from Visa Inc., there is no pricing mechanism, and value is measured in programmatic outcomes rather than revenue. It uses Visa's brand, global network, and institutional relationships to convene tier-one co-investors and credible delivery partners, which is the primary mechanism by which a relatively small organisation extends its geographic and vertical reach across Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. Leadership transitioned in December 2025 when Najada Kumbuli was appointed President, succeeding Graham Macmillan who had served since 2019.

Name

Visa Foundation

Legal name

Visa Foundation

Website

https://usa.visa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Visa Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Visa Inc., funding SMBs, women entrepreneurs, climate startups, and disability-inclusive programmes worldwide. It deploys grants and LP commitments through partner organisations across more than 150 global partners and over $350 million committed since 2020.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Foundations & CSR Grantmaking (BPAGAKAC), Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM), Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

Keywords

• Philanthropic foundation
• Impact investing
• Grant funding programs
• Small business support
• Financial inclusion

Headquarters

HQ city

Foster City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Visa Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Visa Inc., providing catalytic grant funding, impact investments, and capacity-building programmes to support small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), women entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs with disabilities, and climate-focused startups in under-served markets globally. Since 2020, the Foundation has committed over $350 million across more than 150 global partners, supporting 12 million SMBs and 14 million jobs. It operates as a limited partner in impact investment funds and as a grant-funder for enterprise development programmes delivered through partner organisations.

Product overview

Visa Foundation is a philanthropic entity that operates grant programs and impact investing initiatives rather than commercial technology products or services. Its portfolio consists of funding programs supporting women entrepreneurs, small businesses, and climate innovation. Key programs include the SEED Inclusivity Program supporting entrepreneurs with disabilities in Asia, the RevUp Women Initiative supporting women entrepreneurs in Nigeria, and the Greentech Europe accelerator program supporting climate tech startups. As an impact investor, Visa Foundation also serves as a limited partner in funds such as the Partech Impact Fund focused on European B2B impact technology companies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SEED Inclusivity Programme A three-year capacity-building programme that supports entrepreneurs with disabilities across India, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Participants receive digital learning content, mentorship, and access to financing pathways, with targets of 40% participants with disabilities and 30% women-led businesses across three cohorts of 15 founders each.
• RevUp Women Initiative A women-entrepreneurship programme providing a 12-week enterprise development experience for women-led businesses, combining training, mentorship, technology-enabled learning, and equity-free catalytic funding. Delivered through AfriLabs in Nigeria for 150 women entrepreneurs across Abuja, Lagos, and Abia, culminating in a demo day.
• Greentech Europe 2024 Accelerator An accelerator programme for European climate and sustainability-focused startups, providing mentorship, investment readiness support, and networking. Powered by Village Capital with Visa Foundation funding, with selected startups such as Alga.E (sargassum seaweed biofertilizers and bioplastics) participating.
• Tap In to Impact Initiative A sponsorship-linked philanthropic initiative under the FIFA World Cup 2026 partnership that commits $600,000 ($200,000 each) to three non-profit partners — SCORE Association (USA), Futurpreneur (Canada), and Pro Mujer (Mexico) — to support small businesses, entrepreneurs, and women microentrepreneurs across host markets.
• Partech Impact Fund Limited Partner Commitment A limited partner commitment in the €300 million Partech Impact Fund, co-investing alongside Allianz, European Investment Fund, Bpifrance, British Business Bank, COFIDES, Neuberger Berman, QIC, KBC, and Legrand. The fund invests in mid-stage European B2B technology companies driving decarbonisation and digitisation, with approximately 40% deployed across companies including Gireve, xFarm, Makersite, and FYLD.

Quantifiable outcome

• 12 million SMBs supported and 14 million jobs facilitated through commitments across 150+ global partners since 2020
• +4 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• SCORE AssociationmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026As part of the FIFA World Cup 2026 'Tap In to Impact' initiative, Visa is committing $200,000 to SCORE Association — America's largest network of volunteer business mentors providing free mentoring and educational resources to entrepreneurs across all 50 states and territories. Since 1964, SCORE has helped more than 17 million entrepreneurs start, grow, or exit a business.
• FuturpreneurmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026As part of the FIFA World Cup 2026 'Tap In to Impact' initiative, Visa is committing $200,000 to Futurpreneur, Canada's only national non-profit providing financing, mentorship, and resources to entrepreneurs ages 18–39. Since 1996, Futurpreneur has helped more than 21,000 entrepreneurs launch over 16,600 businesses across Canada.
• Pro MujermajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026As part of the FIFA World Cup 2026 'Tap In to Impact' initiative, Visa is committing $200,000 to Pro Mujer, which supports women microentrepreneurs across Latin America and Mexico through training, health services, and access to finance. Over 35 years, it has reached more than 2.5 million women, disbursed USD 4.4 billion in microloans, and delivered over 10 million health services.
• AfriLabscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 February 2026Visa Foundation supports AfriLabs in delivering the Enterprise Development Phase of the RevUp Women Initiative in Nigeria. The programme provides a 12-week enterprise development experience for 150 women entrepreneurs across Abuja, Lagos, and Abia, combining training, mentorship, technology-enabled learning, and equity-free catalytic funding, culminating in a demo day.
• SeedstarscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 September 2024Visa Foundation and Seedstars launched the SEED Inclusivity Programme, a three-year initiative to support entrepreneurs with disabilities across Asia. The programme trains 45 founders in three cohorts of 15 participants each in India, Indonesia, and Vietnam, with targets of 40% participants with disabilities and 30% women-led businesses. Participants receive digital content, mentorship, and access to financing pathways.
• Village CapitalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 January 2024Visa Foundation powers the Greentech Europe 2024 accelerator programme in partnership with Village Capital, which selected Alga.E (a startup converting sargassum seaweed into biofertilizers and bioplastics) and other climate-focused startups. The accelerator provides mentorship, investment readiness support, and networking for European green technology entrepreneurs.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Acumen: Direct peer — nonprofit impact investor backing early-stage social enterprises serving low-income customers in Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. Comparable in deploying patient capital into entrepreneurs in under-served markets, with similar geographic focus.
• Calvert Impact Capital: Direct peer — nonprofit impact investing intermediary that pools capital to fund financial inclusion and climate solutions globally. Comparable as a non-bank impact capital intermediary; particularly relevant given Visa Foundation's new President previously led investing at Calvert.
• Mastercard Foundation: Direct peer — the philanthropic arm of Mastercard, focused on financial inclusion, education, and economic empowerment in Africa and other emerging markets. Most analogous as another payments-network corporate foundation deploying catalytic capital at global scale.
• PayPal Giving Fund: Direct peer — the charitable giving vehicle of PayPal, focused on enabling SMB and nonprofit fundraising. Comparable as a payments-company philanthropic arm, though operating more as a giving platform than a grantmaking foundation.
• Omidyar Network: Direct peer — impact investment firm founded by eBay's Pierre Omidyar, combining grants and investment capital to support entrepreneurship and governance. Comparable in mission-driven blending of philanthropic capital with venture/PE-style investing.

Broad incumbents

• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: Broad incumbent — the world's largest private foundation, with significant global development and SMB economic opportunity portfolios. Comparable as a private foundation operating at massive scale, though its focus is far broader (global health, education, poverty).
• Google.org: Broad incumbent — the philanthropic arm of Alphabet/Google, with a much larger endowment and broader thematic scope (AI for social good, education, economic opportunity). Comparable as a tech corporate foundation deploying impact capital at scale.
• Rockefeller Foundation: Broad incumbent — major independent private foundation focused on smart power, health, and economic opportunity. Comparable as a foundation deploying large-scale grant capital across geographies, with growing thematic focus on climate and inclusion similar to Visa Foundation.
• Ford Foundation: Broad incumbent — a major independent private foundation with global programs in economic fairness, democracy, and climate. Comparable in deploying mission-aligned grantmaking at significant scale, though independent (not corporate-affiliated) and far larger.

Regional players

• British International Investment (BII): Emerging/regional player — UK's development finance institution investing in emerging-market businesses and climate solutions. Comparable in deploying catalytic capital to SMBs in emerging markets, though government-backed and substantially larger in AUM.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/visa-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments10 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Visa Foundation