Rosy Fynn leads Mastercard Foundation’s data-driven youth employment strategy in Nigeria.
Rosy Fynn currently serves as the Country Director for the Mastercard Foundation in Nigeria, where she leads efforts to implement the Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy. With a career spanning telecommunications, consulting, financial services, and insurance, Fynn brings over a decade of leadership experience across Africa, the United States, and the Caribbean.
Career background and transition to development
Before joining the Mastercard Foundation, Fynn was Chief Executive Officer at BusyInternet, a Ghana-based 4G internet provider. During her tenure, she oversaw a digital transformation and a restructuring process aimed at improving service delivery. In 2021, she was named Outstanding Telecommunication CEO of the Year at the Entrepreneurs and Corporate Executive Awards.
Her earlier career includes senior roles at Bharti Airtel, Surfline Communications, and Millicom International Cellular (Tigo), where she worked across various markets in Africa. The businesswoman holds a BA in Computer Science and Mathematics from Smith College in the United States and an MBA from Harvard Business School. In addition to her corporate experience, she is a fellow of the Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellowship and the African Leadership Initiative-West Africa. In 2020, she was recognised by the STEM Woman Project as one of the Top 30 women in STEM.
The Mastercard Foundation is a development organisation focused on expanding access to education and financial services, with a particular emphasis on African youth. Its flagship initiative, Young Africa Works, aims to enable 30 million young people across the continent—10 million in Nigeria alone—to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030.
Since taking up her position in Nigeria in 2023, Rosy Fynn has overseen the expansion of this initiative across several sectors, including agriculture, digital technology, and entrepreneurship. According to Foundation estimates, nearly three million young Nigerians have so far benefited from job-related programmes under the initiative.
One of the more recent initiatives under her leadership is the launch of the African Youth Employment Clock, developed in partnership with the World Data Lab. The tool provides real-time data on employment trends across African countries and is designed to help governments, donors, and private sector actors make informed decisions on job creation strategies.
Fynn highlights the importance of data in driving more effective interventions: “Our commitment to enabling 10 million young women and men in Nigeria to access meaningful work through the Young Africa Works strategy remains at the heart of our mission.”
Promoting inclusion and mentorship
Beyond her organisational role, Fynn is actively involved in mentoring young professionals and promoting STEM education for women. These activities align with the Foundation’s broader goals of inclusion and empowerment, but are also reflective of her advocacy for more diverse leadership in Africa’s development sectors.
Under Rosy Fynn’s leadership, the Mastercard Foundation has positioned itself as a key player in Nigeria’s youth development space.
