In a diverse career that includes stints at Citigroup and Nike, Shamina Singh's most visible work has been at Mastercard, where she founded its Center for Inclusive Growth a decade ago.
Born in the U.S. to parents who immigrated from India, Singh saw firsthand what it was like for outsiders to seek an economic foothold, and how access to information, capital and the right connections can ignite success for small businesses.
"Networks power the modern economy," said Singh, noting that even in a poor community, small businesses with access to the right tools can thrive. "They need to go digital, they need capital, and they need a way to grow their business networks and know-how."
Singh is one of
An expert networker, Singh developed broad skills solving community problems by working for decades as a staffer at various nonprofit, government and corporate posts. President Clinton appointed her to work on expanding health care throughout the U.S. via the Department of Labor, and President Obama placed her on the board of AmeriCorps for six years. At Citi, she spent nearly six years tackling global economic development issues at the bank and dove into international policy issues at Nike for nearly a year.
At each job, Singh learned the power of data and research, which is at the core of her work at Mastercard's Center of Inclusive Growth. In addition to this role, she holds the title of executive vice president of sustainability.
Mastercard doesn't just randomly hand out money to prospective entrepreneurs, Singh said. Over years of research and experimentation, Singh and the Center for Inclusive Growth have worked to develop an inclusive formula called Strive to deliver specific types of help to certain small-business recipients that are already poised to grow.
"We identified a category of striving small-business owners that have been in operation for at least two years and have two to 10 employees. We found these are businesses where a little bit of inclusive, philanthropic capital coupled with the serious assets of Mastercard can really make a difference," Singh said.
The program rolled out first in emerging economies including in India, Indonesia and Mexico.
By the time
In addition to Strive, Singh in the last few years has focused on closing the gap between those who have access to information and those who don't. To this end, Mastercard formed a partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation, called Data.org, which takes an inclusive approach to solving community problems by democratizing data.
At the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, for example, administrators were frustrated by the high level of students dropping out shortly before graduation.
"We learned the college's class schedules didn't correspond with many students' availability based on their work schedules," Singh said, noting that Data.org, with Mastercard, helped use data analysis to find and fix the problem.
On the global front, Data.org has created the Capacity Accelerator Network, which aims to train 1 million data professionals in more than 20 countries by 2032. The program also aims to help local policymakers make economic development initiatives more effective by targeting opportunities and benchmarking results.
Beginning in 2019, the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth also provided research and data assistance to refine and expand the operations of Accion MfB Limited, a Lagos, Nigeria-based microfinance lender licensed through the Central Bank of Nigeria.
"Mastercard put together a team of volunteers who helped Accion restructure data and data analytics that helped them deliver really important lending capabilities to more people," Singh said.
As a result, Mastercard last year extended a new $15.8 million grant from the Mastercard Impact Fund to help Accion extend loans to five million micro- and small enterprises in emerging economies, including a million women-owned organizations. These services will reach more than 10 million people over the next four years, Mastercard estimates.
Being open to new and different opportunities by working in different industries has been key to Singh's success from the beginning of her career.
"Take opportunities to attend formal training programs, because you can always continue to learn and grow, no matter your role or title," she advises anyone seeking to advance in their career. In addition to an undergraduate degree in political science, Singh has a master's degree in public affairs from the University of Texas, and has pursued other specialized post-graduate studies at Stanford, Harvard and Yale.
Mentors have also been crucial for Singh over the years, and she encourages women on the rise to create their own "personal board of directors" to act as guides, sponsors and advocates. At Mastercard, she leans in to support other women through the company's mentorship programs, leadership development and executive coaching.
Appearing on many annual lists of leading LGBT+ executives, Singh is a member of Mastercard's management committee and serves as executive sponsor of its PRIDE business resource group. At the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos earlier this year, she led a panel discussion about building the field of data science for social impact, and sparked discussions with innovators.
Yet what excites her most is seeing little enterprises led by ambitious entrepreneurs grow, and helping them get the tools they need to succeed.
"When you can use your expertise to change the world in a way, it's enormously gratifying and helpful," she said.
