Job Description

Location: Remote, UTC to UTC+3

Program: Mastercard Strive EU

Job type: Part-time, ending October 2025

Reports to the Insights Lead

About the program

Surfacing new innovations and amplifying small business voices in the EU

The Mastercard Strive EU program, implemented by Caribou, in partnership with the European Microfinance Network, seeks to boost the resilience and growth of European small businesses by surfacing new innovations that support them get capital, go digital and gain networks and know-how. 

The program consists of an Innovation Fund and support to the entrepreneurial ecosystem: 

• Mastercard Strive EU Innovation Fund : The Mastercard Strive EU Innovation Fund awards grants of up to €500k to 10 innovative organizations supporting small business growth across the EU. Grants have been distributed to ten organizations developing digital and data-first solutions for small businesses. Their solutions will support small businesses to:
  • Unlock working capital and credit through embedded finance;
  • Go digital safely by bolstering cybersecurity;
  • Navigate evolving consumer preferences & regulatory expectations around environmental sustainability;
  • Harness artificial intelligence to save time and make money.

• Ecosystem Building: Mastercard Strive EU convenes the European entrepreneurial ecosystem to share perspectives, cross-pollinate learnings, and amplify promising models to help European small businesses at scale. The program achieves these goals alongside the Mastercard Strive EU Small Business Council.

The Mastercard Strive EU program is committed to fostering partnerships across all fronts — from technical experts, advisers, and financial institutions to nonprofits, fintechs, investors, civil society and the public sector. By building a connected and supportive ecosystem, we can ensure that micro-businesses in Europe are not only resilient but also positioned to lead in digital transformation, sustainability and risk management.

About the Role 

One of the program's main missions is to share insights and learn about innovation for small businesses in the EU to inspire others to take action. Developing engaging, evidence-based insights and innovation narratives emerging from the Mastercard Strive EU program is central to delivering this mission. We need to look across the relevant sectors, at the evidence, and at our own grantees to discover the innovations, lessons, and best practices that support small businesses in the EU to get capital, go digital, and gain networks and know-how. 

The Insights Associate will need to enjoy: 

• Conducting and synthesizing research : You'll conduct market research to identify emerging sector trends. You'll gather and synthesize information from our portfolio of Mastercard Strive EU Innovation Fund Winners, to identify key themes and trends.
• Produce impactful content for key stakeholders : You'll develop content that resonates with a range of stakeholders, including policymakers, business leaders, and ecosystem actors. You'll contribute to key deliverables, such as our Annual Small Business Report, by providing sector-specific insights and supporting the narrative development. Content includes articles, case studies, opinion pieces, interviews, videos, and reports.
• Engaging with various stakeholders : You'll regularly engage with our innovation fund winners, technical experts, business leaders, or policymakers to generate insights, and capture reflections on insights content. You'll also work closely with the Measurement and Impact Manager and Insights Manager. 

About you

• 2-3+ years of work experience, some of which has been in a similar insights and research-focused role.
• An excellent writer who knows how to engage an audience. Comfortable writing for practitioners and policymakers alike. Someone who sees complexity and knows how to communicate it clearly and effectively.
• Analytical thinker who can translate data and best practices into relevant and actionable insights for diverse audiences. 
• Strong research skills with the ability to synthesize data into meaningful narratives. Having some data analysis and visualization skills would help.
• Experience working in one or more of the following areas is essential: entrepreneurship and small business growth, digital innovation, sustainability, and climate action. 
• Experience with the EU's regulatory and innovation ecosystem is a plus.
• A do-er who sees what to do and makes it happen independently.

• Multilingualism always helps. Outputs and your day-to-day working life will be in English, but our grantees are across the EU. 
• Respectful of everyone, everywhere, inclusive and supportive of colleagues, and fun to work with.

About Us

Caribou is a global consultancy partnering with ambitious organizations to reimagine and deliver impact in a digital age. 

We design strategies, manage funds, uncover insights, and measure impact.

Trusted by leading foundations, companies, and governments, we support our clients to deliver programs that mobilize and shape technology to achieve their impact goals while uncovering new pathways to positive change.

As part of a digital transformation, we strengthen livelihoods and shared prosperity, promote inclusive business models and technologies, ensure the fairness and safety of future digital systems, and enable bold climate action.

Our expertise spans many technologies - earth observation, AI, digital financial services, digital identity, and digital public goods, and many broader global challenges, from gender inequity and forced migration to the youth boom and isolation of rural areas. The intersections are many, but so too are the opportunities for progress.

Our vision is a world in which digital economies are inclusive and sustainable.

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