Meet Amanda Jacobson, the podcast guest of this week’s Grit Daily News Like a Boss series. She is the Chief of Staff for Oyster Financial. This is a neobank for SMBs co-headquartered in Mexico City and San Francisco. Prior to joining Oyster’s executive management team, she managed a portfolio of nine fintech startups for Fiinlab, the innovation lab of Gentera. While there, she focused on generating sustainable solutions for financial inclusion. Jacobson also led the expansion of Village Capital. In her role, she supported its 50 ventures and eight startups.
On the podcast, Jacobson spoke about the entrepreneurial environment in Mexico today. “Most of the businesses in Mexico are owned by men. However, 25-30% of our businesses are owned by women. Within Oyster, we’ve been pretty steady over the last year. SMBs have a huge impact in Mexico accounting for 72% of the jobs, 95% of the businesses and more than half of the GDP. That said, it’s really hard to be an entrepreneur in Mexico and Latin America. It’s complicated and the financial system is challenging. It can take months to just get a bank account.”
Making a Difference
Oyster Financial makes it easier for businesses to launch. By offering financial support to help manage cashflows, the SMBs have a greater chance for success. “Oyster is all about how we can use our financial solution as a tool for good to help businesses. Most SMBs (65%) die within five years and that’s something we want to change,” said Jacobson in the podcast. As a result of Oyster’s customer discovery work, they are building financial solutions that fuel the economy.
The Like a Boss podcast offers insights and inspiration. To this end, Jacobson says, “Be confident but also be humble.
Surround yourself with the people who will help you grow.” To hear about partnership opportunities in Latin America, tune into the podcast.