ResilienceVC bucks trend, unveils $56M fund to back fintechs working on financial inclusion

Tahira led a panel at SOCAP in San Francisco that looked at how startup innovation can drive economic recovery and resilience at a time when COVID-19, global strife, supply chain challenges, and recessionary pressures have caused the majority of Americans to be financially unhealthy. Along with Reem Goussos from Village Capital, Yigal Kerszenbaum from ETF@JFFLabs, and Matt Schaar from Accion Venture Lab, we heard from the founders of Let’s Get Set, Savings Oak, Cher, Ramped, and Quipu as to how their models are helping build resilience for users.

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)-based investing: just more Wall Street bullsh*&t or a way to finally hold polluters accountable for their actions? This week, we're diving into the controversial topic of ESG investing, and we have two deeply knowledgeable debaters who will present their perspectives. Hans Taparia, a professor at NYU Stern and a critic of ESG, argues that ESG systems have been designed for profit rather than creating real change. On the other side, Charlotte Degot, CEO of C02 AI, emphasizes the need to measure impact accurately and to make ESG investing a force for good. The conversation revolves around the challenges of measurement, the pace of progress, and the role of regulations. Join us as we delve into this thought-provoking discussion and explore the complexities of ESG investing with our esteemed guests.

You’ve seen them in your checkout carts and they follow you online shopping: Buy-Now-Pay-Later companies have become significant players on the fintech scene. In the inaugural episode of “The Pnyx”, your hosts Alex and Vikas discuss Affirm, Klarna, Afterpay and all the other actors that constitute the Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) phenomenon. Joined by panelists Marshall Lux and Jeremy Solomon, we dive deep into the pros and cons of BNPL, exploring its potential benefits for consumers, the inherent risks, and the implications for financial transparency and inclusion. This episode sheds important light on the complexities surrounding this popular, but still nascent financing model.

Vikas moderated this panel on “Learning to Serve Main Street in Times of Crisis” at the Financial Health Network’s EMERGE conference in Los Angeles. Along with Luz Urrutia from Accion Opportunity Fund, Shamina Singh from Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and Jonathan Jacob from Wells Fargo, they discussed how innovation and partnership could drive resilience for American small businesses.

A tighter funding market and ongoing global challenges means now is actually the best time for startups and investors to be focused on inclusive fintech.

Vikas writes in Forbes about why now is actually the best time for startups and investors to be focused on inclusive fintech.

Despite abundant hype, Decentralized Finance (DeFi) still has much to prove when it comes to lending to the financially excluded. Thankfully, we are starting to see models that are using DeFi to be more relevant for credit for underserved customers.

Vikas writes in Forbes about DeFi models that are more relevant for underserved customers and the questions for DeFi

Today's supply chain challenges go well beyond the American consumer. A group of embedded fintech innovators are helping small businesses in markets from Nigeria to Pakistan be more resilient to supply chain shocks.