Mastercard has teamed up with Waze, the driving directions app, in Romania, in an initiative designed to help farmers who sell their produce at roadside stalls become small businesses.

Small producers are invited to register and are given their own personalized pin design to put on the map. When opening Waze, potential customers can see in real time all the local producers that sell their products on the road, in front of their homes, in their gardens or other non-commercial locations, together with a short description. Mastercard also provided the producers with a system to take cashless payments. 

The project is by McCann Bucharest, and the agency believes it has global potential.  “Globally, not only in Romania, the economies are moving towards cashless," explained Catalin Dobre, chief creative officer, McCann Worldgroup and regional creative director, McCann CEE. "In this context, the roadside vendors that operate in the informal sector are vulnerable. They are in need of digital solutions that help them gain visibility and become a more important part of the economy. Reinventing the market place in a digital space like Waze literally puts these micro entrepreneurs on the map. This is an idea starting in Romania, but it can offer inspiration for many countries that encounter similar problems."