Having grown up in rural Mississippi, this Black woman became a role model because she understood the needs of the unbanked and underbanked and provided a mobile digital fintech solution.
Allen got a job in Silicon Valley. What a culture shock! In rural areas where Allen grew up, it was not uncommon to drive 30 to 60 minutes to find a bank. Instead, residents cashed their checks at the local grocery store and, all too often, when they needed a loan, they used predatory payday lenders.
Allen saw the opportunity the unbanked and underbanked represented for mobile digital services."I felt it was my duty to take those two worlds, put them together, and create a solution to the problem," she said. Since 2016, Allen has waxed prophetic about the coming of the cashless economy and mobile banking, but few investors got it. They thought the unbanked and underbanked were opportunities in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, but not in the U.S.
Young people, women, and people of color are attracted to the startup because the founder represents these groups. Allen's grandmother had kept her money in the mattress."People told me, 'I don't trust banks,'" said Allen."But, you get me. Sign me up."
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