It is the big challenge for fintech: making the financial lives better for the those who are underserved. We have come a long way in the past decade but there is still so much more that has to be done. And one of the people who has been at the center of this fintech transformation is Arjuna Costa, Managing Partner at Flourish Ventures.

He is someone I have wanted to get on the show for many years, so I am fortunate that the stars aligned and we were able to sit down for the engaging discussion (I had another Flourish partner, Emmalyn Shaw, on the show back in 2019). We cover a lot of territory here, including a topic I have never before covered on the podcast.

In this podcast you will learn:

• The journey Arjuna took from microfinance to venture capital.
• The early days of the Omidyar Network and how they thought about financial inclusion.
• How Flourish Ventures grew out of the Omidyar Network.
• The five principles they believe that underlie a fair financial system.
• The advantages of having a single funding source.
• How Flourish measures success.
• What is different today from investing 10 years ago.
• The change in the quality of entrepreneurs and business models.
• How much better financially people are doing today in emerging markets.
• What else needs to happen to really make a difference.
• How Flourish is helping to address the challenges of the mental health of fintech founders.
• The state of fintech venture capital in 2024.

Connect with Fintech One-on-One:

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• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes