Public-, private-, and nonprofit-sector organizations have announced ten initiatives totaling $54 million to fight inequality and promote inclusive growth by supporting financial inclusion, small businesses, workforce development, and access to capital.

Announced at the second Global Inclusive Growth Summit, co-hosted by the Aspen Institute and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, financial inclusion initiatives include a joint effort by Mobility Capital Finance, Mastercard, and the City of Birmingham, Alabama, to develop a financial services infrastructure program that will help fifty thousand underbanked and unbanked residents in marginalized communities; an $8.4 million commitment from JPMorgan Chase to improve household stability as part of the firm's five-year, $400 million commitment to close the housing affordability gap for Black and Hispanic/Latinx households; and a five-year, $11 million commitment from Prudential to partner with the Aspen Institute on efforts to improve job quality, empower people to build financial security, and amplify wealth creation opportunities for historically underserved communities.

Other commitments include a regional partnership between the Center for Inclusive Growth and Singapore-based Grab to provide informal workers and small businesses on the app's platform with access to digital upskilling opportunities and, in turn, income opportunities; Acumen's plans, with initial support from the Target Foundation, to develop an accelerator for early-stage companies focused on promoting green jobs and circular models that aim to drive sustainable and equitable economic growth in India; and Beyond The Billion's efforts to secure pledges from venture funds and limited partner investors to unlock $10 billion in venture capital to be invested in businesses with women founders.

"When we launched the Global Inclusive Growth Partnership in 2019, economic inequity was already an immediate challenge," said Aspen Institute president and CEO Dan Porterfield. "Few could have predicted just how fundamental the work of inclusive growth would become, however, over the past eighteen months. As the global economy recovers from a devastating pandemic, we must act with renewed urgency to build a more equitable society. The commitments announced at the summit today, within this framework, have the potential to transform the lives of people, families, and communities around the world. Each sector — including business, governments, and nonprofits — has an opportunity and a responsibility to put these solutions into practice."

(Photo credit: Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth)