Michael Schlein named in Institutional Investor’s Fintech Finance 40

Fostering innovation and inclusion in financial services

“We’re finding ways to meet the financial needs of the poor faster, better, safer than we’ve ever been able to in the past,” says Accion CEO Michael Schlein. His focus on innovation in financial services has landed him a spot on Institutional Investor’s annual fintech leaderboard for the second year in a row. This year’s Fintech Finance 40 list highlights the top investors, mentors, and incubators advancing new solutions in the fintech space.

Michael shared his insights on impact investing in an interview with Institutional Investor last year. He describes Accion as “the best of both worlds” because of our mission to improve people’s lives while also investing in promising companies that are creating new fintech products. We support innovation because we believe it will help create a financial system that works for everyone — even the 3 billion people who have been left out in the past.

This inclusive financial system of the future is already beginning to take shape. Some platforms can build a credit score using alternative data as accessible and straightforward as pre-paid phone usage or social media profiles. Other enterprises use mobile money to enable people who’ve never had a bank account to pay for services and transfer funds. Many of the ingenious fintech firms that are building these solutions are our partners around the world. We’re proud to be a fintech leader, and we will continue to support innovation and make sure new digital financial tools reach the people who need them most.