Children from across Cote d’Ivoire get a Chance to Shine as Visa’s Player Escort Program 

Visa, a global leader in digital payments and the chosen digital payment provider for the tournament, has collaborated with several partners including financial institutions, football federations, community partners and NGOs. Together, they have selected more than 800 boys and girls, aged 9 to 13, to escort some of the world’s top football players onto the pitch during the games. Already, 500 children have had the thrilling experience of stepping onto the AFCON pitch alongside their football heroes during the Group Stage. The tournament’s opening game was particularly special, featuring 22 children from families hailing from three cocoa-producing regions – Agboville, Abengourou, and Aboisso. Their parents are part of the pilot phase of a national traceability system for coffee and cocoa, a project initiated by the Cocoa Coffee Council of Côte d’Ivoire, Panelys, and Visa, aiming to offer end-to-end digital financial traceability solutions to over 700,000 cocoa farmers in the region.

SOURCE: VENTURES AFRICA