July 25, 2022

Meet The Black And Latinx Founders Joining Mastercard’s Program

Financial giant, Mastercard, has officially announced the class of this year’s Start Path program, an award-winning engagement program aimed at providing global support and mentorship to the brightest late-stage startups. 

According to a press release, Mastercard selected three early-stage startups led by underrepresented founders and four late-stage fintech innovators looking to scale their businesses for this year’s program. 

“As we continue our eight-year legacy of successful collaboration with startups around the world through Start Path,” said Blake Rosenthal, executive vice president, Fintech & Segment Solutions at Mastercard.

“The companies we selected are on the pulse of what’s next, and together we can create an ecosystem where everyone thrives by scaling technology and innovation with trust and security at the center.” 

The Black and Brown business founders of GuavaoneKinSUMA WealthYunit, and Truora are all set to join Start Path’s In Solidarity pathway, a program founded exclusively to support early-stage startups led by traditionally underrepresented fintech founders. The programming marks Mastercard’s commitment of $500 million in products, services, technology, and financial support to help close the racial wealth and opportunity gap. 

Guava 

Founder of Guava, Kelly Ifill

The digital banking platform, Guava, is an online community designed to provide equitable financial products to Black entrepreneurs to help close the racial wealth gap. Founded in 2020 by Kelly Ifill, Guava uses its network to connect entrepreneurs and business leaders. Users are encouraged to exchange knowledge, celebrate successes, promote products and services, and grow their network. 

OneKin

Co-founder of OneKin, Marvin François

The retail-tech company, OneKin, focuses on providing small businesses with creative technology solutions to help their businesses reach, connect, and sell to their customers. The tech platform, co-founded in 2017 by Marvin François and Jennifer Gomez, has managed to create an immersive Livestream shopping experience for indie, small and local businesses, revolutionizing each customer’s experience with unique brands and shops across the country. 

SumaWealth 

Co-founder of SumaWealth, Beatriz Acevedo-Greiff

Wealth building platform, SumaWealth, provides opportunities and financial inclusion to young U.S. Latinos. The platform uses a holistic approach featuring fintech digital media and virtual experiences to spice up dry and complex topics of investment, debt management, and creating and sustaining wealth. Co-founded in 2020 by Beatriz Acevedo-Greiff and Xavier Gutierrez, the platform’s primary mission is to become a trusted financial source for the global community of Latinx individuals by translating critical financial topics and providing problem-solving skills to help them build a more prosperous future. 

Yunit 

Founder of Yunit, Philip Aubrey

The investment community platform, Yunit, is a digital platform designed to make investing with friends straightforward and safe. Founded in 2020 by Philip Aubrey, the community has grown to create a safe space for various investment groups to co-exist. Each group brings people with similar values and beliefs together to learn and grow. As a result, members can not only gain insight into what others are doing to become better investors, but they also have the option to manage their money and assets by investing with a single tap. 

Truora 

Founders of Truora, Daniel Bilbao, Maite Muñiz, David Cuadrado and Cesear Pino

User authentication company, Troura, provides digital solutions to companies everywhere. Co-founded in 2018 by Daniel Bilbao, Maite Muñiz, David Cuadrado, and Cesar Pino, the digital platform works to transform and innovate how companies connect, interact, verify, and acquire users and customers. The four founders launched the Latin American startup with the mission of helping to grow the region’s economy. By enabling tech infrastructure that simplifies and automates user interactions, businesses have room to grow, thrive and provide better services. 

Kumba Kpakima

Kumba Kpakima is a reporter at POCIT. A documentary about the knife crime epidemic in the UK got her a nomination for the UK's #30toWatch Young Journalists of the Year.