The Ripple Effect: a decade of data on small business lending 

The fifth edition of The Ripple Effect report looked at a decade of Accion Opportunity Fund’s lending, from 2015 to 2025. In that time, AOF lent $960 million to nearly 20,000 small business owners. As their businesses grew, that lending helped generate an estimated $5.46 billion in new GDP and retain or create more than 70,000 jobs. 

That impact was possible because a coalition stood behind it: public funding, more than 2,800 donors, and 43 investors. None of it happened on its own. What comes next won’t either. 

On Friday, October 30, join us to learn what the findings show and explore how we can work together to help more small business owners access affordable financing. 

You’ll hear from: 

Luz Urrutia, President and CEO at Accion Opportunity Fund, on what the findings mean for AOF’s goal to become the first mission-driven lender that is both national in scale and financially sustainable, and how supporters can help reach it. 

Jonathan Perri, Social Impact Director at Ripple, on why Ripple chose to support both AOF’s lending and this research. 

Travis James, VP and Economist at TXP, Inc., on how small business loans grow the economy and keep working as they’re repaid and lent again, based on TXP’s economic modeling for this and past editions of the report. 

Evelyn Stark, Managing Director, Financial Health at ideas42, on the larger story the research tells and what it looks like in the communities AOF serves, drawing on her work with financial providers and her years as a funder. 

We’ll send the recording to everyone who registers.