As a content marketing agency working exclusively with impact business, Bark Media gets a behind-the-scenes and holistic view of the work toward systems change across sectors such as regenerative agriculture, climate action, and democracy reform. One area that promises the most potential for transformative change lies in the shift toward a regenerative economy. If we seek a more equitable, just, and sustainable world — we’ve got to put our literal money where our mouth is.
Finance is a critical lever to influence economic outcomes that advance sustainability, equity and justice. The finance sector has a unique position in helping to support the transition from an economy based in the exploitation of people and the planet to an economy based in restoration and justice. Plus, access to capital is a fundamental driver of economic prosperity — one that has historically been purposely withheld from women and People of Color. Today we continue to face significant disparities in access to capital for underrepresented groups.
At the recent B Corp Champions Retreat, we met up with a few of the innovators working across the financial sector to drive the shift toward a regenerative economy. Through apps, technology, education, impact funds, banking structures and more, these impact leaders are empowering us to make our money work toward the world we want. In this series, we highlight our conversations with these leaders.
SUMA Wealth: Making Money Fun and Easy for Young Latine Americans
SUMA is a fintech digital platform designed to empower the Latine community to build and sustain wealth, with the overarching goal of closing the Latine wealth gap within one generation. SUMA’s theory of change focuses on Latine youth who, as key influencers of their families and communities, are critical accelerators in closing the wealth gap.
SUMA uses technology and AI to create hyper-personalized, culturally relevant content, virtual experiences, and financial tools that aim to demystify and reimagine financial inclusion. SUMA strives to become the trusted source to help the Latine community both overcome current financial challenges and create a more prosperous future working toward three key goals:
- Influence a positive change in the perception and understanding of financial inclusion within the Latine community;
- Organically incorporate financial inclusion into the U.S. Latine lexicon and make financial topics accessible, understandable, relevant, and even enjoyable;
- Provide useful and necessary tools to help Latines overcome financial challenges and build sustainable generational wealth.
Bark spoke with SUMA CEO and Co-Founder Beatriz Acevedo about why she founded the organization and what she hopes the platform will accomplish.
Bark Media: Why did you launch SUMA?
Beatriz Acevedo: Our communities don’t feel like they belong in the world of finance and banking, even if they are English-dominant. The general market thinks Latines are all Spanish speakers. For younger people, if it’s targeted in Spanish, they think it’s for their grandparents; yet if it’s in English, it’s also not for them. That’s why SUMA gets so much traction — even though it’s in English, it’s leaning into our culture. We are proud Latines and proud Americans, too.
Bark: Why does SUMA focus on young Latine people?
Acevedo: The older generation has a lot of distrust and anxiety about the banking system from experiences in their countries of origin. For example, for a while in Mexico, people were able to have U.S. bank accounts. Then one day with no warning, the president came on TV and said, “No more U.S. dollars in Mexico.” Just like that, everything was gone. The same thing happened in Venezuela.
The older way of thinking was that parents didn’t have the resources to save for retirement, so the expectation was their care would be paid for by their children. This mindset takes away our community’s ability to pass on generational wealth. Our theory is by empowering youth with tools, education, and resources, they will take control of their financial future and will be positioned to support themselves and their parents and contribute to the next generation.
Bark: Why should all financial institutions and services focus on better serving the Latine community?
Acevedo: Diversity is the new American majority. It’s not a minority I’m doing a favor for. You need to serve these communities to survive and thrive and future-proof your business — it’s an imperative of economic growth. The ROI of diversity is good business. Yes, we should be inclusive because it’s the right thing to do — but there’s an incredible business opportunity to serve people who have never been served, whether they’re Latine, Black, women, or Indigenous people.