Fostering social change through fintechs: the characteristics of successful impact entrepreneurship

Purpose This article focuses on proposing fifteen suggestions to the most pressing challenges faced by impact-driven fintechs. These solutions were built alongside the entrepreneurs' testimonials and the knowledge drawn from literature on the types of challenges they face and how they might be overcome. We highlight the importance of this type of startup and of our suggestions to foster impactful, effective, and meaningful social change. Design/methodology/approach This article used an exploratory approach, based on twelve interviews with the founders and co-founders of ten Brazilian inclusion-driven fintechs gathered through semi-structured interviews following Kallio et al. (2016) guidelines. The data analysis followed the six phases proposed by Braun and Clarke (2006), and findings were triangulated with the entrepreneurs' statements and with secondary data from nonscientific online sources. Findings The findings evidence that the success of impact fintechs is deeply rooted in the entrepreneur's ability to navigate a variety of Knowledge-related, Process-related and Network-related challenges. This article offers 15 practical suggestions to help inclusion-driven entrepreneurs overcome pressing challenges throughout their journey. Practical implications The findings can support newcomers in forecasting and surpassing challenges that threaten the sustainability and survival of impact startups, contributing to their long-term success. Social implications By supporting impact fintechs, this study helps enable scalable financial solutions to persistent social and environmental issues. Originality/value This article fills a knowledge gap on overcoming barriers in impact fintechs to advance social transformation.