In Spring of 2022, Fintech in Action hosted the Defining Fintech Initiative (DFI), an intercollegiate cooperative in partnership with Howard University and the University of Michigan.
The five-week educational program set out to:
- Define students’ understanding of fintech through hands-on exposure to finance and technology concepts and solutions.
- Develop fintech skills through real-world education from industry-leading CEOs and practitioners.
- Drive success in fintech through multi-campus engagement across the Midwest and East Coast of America.
Out of the 100+ applicants, 39 exceptional students went on to develop a solution to the prompt, “How might we use finance and/or technology to close the wealth gap in the Black community?”
The students gathered information through weeks of intensive research and presentations from executives at Stackwell, PEAK6, Deposits.com, Goldman Sachs, and Dotdash Meredith. After a 15-minute pitch competition, three teams from each school won a trip to New York City for a hands-on learning experience — and some fun!
While in New York, the students had the opportunity to finally meet one another in-person. Winners were split into intercollegiate teams and used what they learned from the initial pitch competition to create a merged or evolved presentation. Additionally, students explored some of the amazing work being done in fintech in NYC, received a Poker Power lesson, and met with some Fintech in Action partner companies, including Zogo CEO, Bolun Li.
Fintech in Action is excited to continue building on the it’s relationships with both Howard University and University of Michigan in 2023.
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