Teaching

I teach a MBA elective on FinTech and Financial Inclusion. The course explores innovative ways that FinTech companies are overcoming financial frictions and using novel technology and data to enhance the financial capacities of households and businesses. Poor financial health and limited financial security is not just a low-income bottom-of-the-pyramid problem in developing economies. It has been democratized with growing income inequalities in developed economies, and now is an issue for nearly half the U.S. population. These problems have become even more acute with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Strengthening financial health is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. It is broadly recognized as critical to achieving inclusive economic growth, and it has positive effects on employment status and income and physical and mental health. Greater financial inclusion is one of the key priorities of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals as it enables households and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to increase resilience and capture economic opportunities.

This course explores innovative ideas and business models that are disrupting financial services to enhance financial wellness of end users.  Though our focus will be primarily on the U.S. and Europe and their legal and regulatory environments, we will also explore major welfare-enhancing innovations in China, India, Africa, and Latin America.