Publications

Today, Accion Opportunity Fund releases a new report “Building Technology for Cross-Sector Collaboration: A Case Study of Fintech-CDFI Partnership Success” about the recently launched partnership between Accion Opportunity Fund and LendingClub.

On the heels of the Great Recession, a new breed of “alternative” lenders has emerged to offer small businesses much-needed access to credit. These new lenders are filling a void created after banks dramatically cut back on their lending to small businesses.

Ten years ago, the financing options for a small business, such as a salon or restaurant were fairly straightforward, though not always easily accessed. A business would go to a bank or credit union and apply for a loan. If the application was denied, for most businesses there was only a limited range of secondary…

In 2008, Accion Opportunity Fund launched Saving for Citizenship, a 5-year initiative to help low-income Silicon Valley residents develop financial skills while saving to pay the fees to become U.S. citizens. 

We are proud to collaborate to produce the largest nationwide sample of microloan borrowers ever evaluated. The Aspen Institute’s microTracker outcomes survey gives us a unique opportunity to evaluate our microloan programs. We make these loans with a mix of thorough consultation and good faith, but we rely on industry-leading evaluation metrics to know the…