My friend John Hope Bryant often reminds us that we can “do well by doing good.” John is the founder of Operation HOPE, an amazing organization focused on financial literacy, financial wellness and economic opportunity for underserved communities. He’s an inspiring leader doing great work, and he’s also a successful entrepreneur who attracts other successful entrepreneurs to support his cause. At last week’s HOPE Global Forums, John closed the event by engaging in a fascinating conversation with Jack Dorsey, founder and CEO of both Twitter and Square. It was clear as they exchanged stories and ideas on stage, that Jack and John shared the belief that innovative businesses can be massively successful, and profitable, by serving people with a fundamental need that has not yet been served. In this case, Square has democratized credit card acceptance and is laser-focused on the mission of helping small business owners to make the sale, thus uplifting them by empowering their financial success.
In this video, Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay, tells the story of how after eBay’s IPO he and his wife Pam were deciding how to give back to society with their newfound wealth. They started by creating a foundation and writing grants to causes they wished to support—traditional philanthropy. But then Pierre observed eBay itself perhaps having an even more profound impact on people’s lives, powering small businesses and creating economic opportunity. As a result, he launched Omidyar Network which includes both philanthropy and purpose-driven investing. Another example of doing well by doing good.
This leads me back to the HOPE Global Forums and how it connects to fintech. Our firm, The Fintech Agenda, was proud to contribute to the agenda program at this year’s HGF. We launched the first ever Social Impact Fintech Symposium bringing together an innovate community of startup founders, venture investors, corporates and non-profits partnering to solve the financial health crisis and fundamentally improve people’s lives. The event was a great success and we look forward to developing similar programs in the future, both at HGF and other venues.
Fintech can be a powerful source for good, and events like HOPE Global Forums provide opportunities to share ideas, make connections and form meaningful partnerships.