Paul Breloff

Paul Breloff is the founding managing director of the Accion Venture Lab, which invests in innovative financial inclusion startups globally. Since late 2012, Venture Lab has invested in 19 enterprises across East Africa, India, Mexico and the U.S. He has advised CGAP, Root Capital, Shell Foundation, BRAC, and others on access-to-finance issues globally. Previously, Paul worked with SKS Microfinance, India’s largest microfinance institution, leading business development and strategic initiatives and assisting on fundraising. Paul has also practiced corporate law with Mayer Brown and worked as an advertising account executive for Leo Burnett, and is a part-time instructor at Johns Hopkins, Monterey Institute of International Studies, and Impact Business Leaders. Paul graduated from Amherst College and the Yale Law School.

By Paul Breloff

Blog

Picking Winners in the Great Remittance Disruption

A convergence of forces offers the opportunity to rethink the traditional remittance model, promising more money, time, and peace of mind for customers.
Blog

Big Data for Financial Inclusion: Is Boring Better?

Big data has the potential to solve important pain points in financial services for the poor - especially through identity verification and real-time validation of credentials.
Blog

Jipange KuSave, M-Shwari, and the Influence of Startups

Even though startups often fail, their ideas and lessons can inform the next innovations in expanding access to financial services. The case of Jipange KuSave and M-Shwari is a great example of how one "failed" startup can enabling another's success.
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Tech Start-ups and Financial Inclusion: Trends To Watch In 2013

In my last post, we talked about the potential for start-ups to shake things up in the financial inclusion space. But where’s the real opportunity today? At Venture Lab, we’ve got our eye on a number of trends for 2013.
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Driving Financial Inclusion Innovation: Why Startups and Why Now?

The recently established Accion Venture Lab aims to play a more active role in identifying and accelerating the next generation of innovative financial inclusion enterprises.