digital-finance
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The IIF puts finance in the same room
Born in a debt crisis, the Institute of International Finance turned shared information into a membership business. Its enduring product is a place where banks, markets and policymakers can talk.
CGAP asks what happens after the account opens
Getting someone into the financial system is only the beginning. CGAP tests whether the services waiting inside actually make life better.
Manfred Borer and the missing links in your chocolate
A Swiss carpenter turned supply-chain entrepreneur, Manfred Borer has spent years making smallholder farms visible. At Koltiva, his approach pairs software with a decidedly physical requirement: someone has to go and look.
Klar bets on the first yes.
A deposit-backed card gives people a way to start building credit. Seven million users later, Klar is extending that invitation to businesses, everyday spending and the prospect of a home.
Michael Schlein and the price of a lost afternoon
A Brazilian dressmaker needed $300 to buy back half her working day. For Accion CEO Michael Schlein, her story explains why the financial system still has so much work to do.
TechQuartier puts startups within testing distance of banks
Frankfurt has plenty of financial institutions. TechQuartier supplies the introductions, programs and testing environments that help young technology companies get beyond a promising meeting.
BFA Global’s big idea: let the shopkeeper sell first
A minibus ride, a rejected delivery, a freezer paid for by the day. BFA Global finds the small frictions that keep businesses small - then helps build a way around them.
Enova International
Enova built a multibillion-dollar lending business by treating credit decisions as a software problem. Now the Chicago fintech is preparing to add something decidedly old-school to the machine: a bank charter.
Koltiva
Koltiva is a Swiss-Indonesian agritech and climate-tech company that makes agricultural supply chains traceable, inclusive, and climate-smart. Through its KoltiTrace software platform and KoltiSkills field services, it connects smallholder producers to global brands with seed-to-table traceability, farm mapping, deforestation and EUDR compliance, carbon assessments, and digital finance. Founded in 2013 and led by co-founder and CEO Manfred Borer, Koltiva reports work with over 2 million registered producers across dozens of commodities and more than 90 countries.
Caribou Financial, Inc.
Caribou is a Denver-based auto fintech that helps drivers cut the cost of owning their car. Through a digital platform, it connects car owners with a network of credit unions and community banks to refinance their auto loans, typically saving customers over $100 a month, and pairs that with an auto insurance marketplace and vehicle protection products. Founded in 2016 as MotoRefi and rebranded to Caribou in 2021, the company reached unicorn status with a $1.1 billion valuation after a $115 million Series C round led by Goldman Sachs in 2022.