Blaze Group

2.5 days of uninterrupted communal space.
Five organizations united by a shared commitment to financial equity. One city rich with culture, hospitality, and imagination to hold it all.

The Future of CDFIs Unleashed Summit (FOCUS Atlanta) was truly special.

Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and fintech leaders came together to actively imagine what more accessible, interoperable, and community-centered financial systems could look like in practice.

The Atlanta University Center Consortium Data Science Initiative opened its doors to help facilitate this think tank. Students from Morehouse College and Spelman College challenged participants to build for the future they actually want to inherit. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta encouraged organizations to think deeply about emerging payment infrastructure and evolving legislation. Interledger Foundation helped catalyze research and development through its grant cycle. And Blaze Group had the privilege of helping shape a tactical vision for ex*****on and partnership.

It was meaningful, necessary, and deeply energizing work.

Time well spent.

The 2026 Data Challenge Finale, powered by + Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth ( ), was phenomenal!

28 HBCU teams competed for over $50k! We met new friends + partners, made plans for business collaborations, and celebrated brilliant students.

We were grateful be in community. Thank you, .summit — you curated a phenomenal fintech panel discussion that we were honored to be part of.

“Blessed are those who plant trees under whose shade they will never sit.” — African Proverb

We are planting seeds with 100-year horizons in mind — grateful for the opportunity to help shape minds, cultivate dreams, and expand what students believe is possible for their future. ✨

The students of worked tirelessly throughout the semester, developing market-viable fintech concepts that inspired and impressed the broader community. Their creativity, discipline, and vision were extraordinary to witness.

We’re deeply grateful to every educator, partner, mentor, and supporter who poured into this program in service of entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, and scholarship.

Congratulations to the students of the Dollarcraft Challenge — Spring 2026. The future is bright. 🌱

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Picture this:

Your organization helps college students design + prototype fintech apps to pitch to statewide stakeholders at the end of the semester.

To prepare for the big stage, those same students lead a 2-hour Fintech Hackathon Sprint for 20 ninth graders — teaching them how to turn ideas into real app prototypes.

In just two hours, high school students move from concept to pitch deck, confidently presenting their ideas and answering questions from a panel of college student judges.

In real-time, you witness your students being struck with the realization that they are capable of building solutions for the world around them.

And in moments like these, you quietly look down at your feet, grateful that God planted you exactly where you’re supposed to be. ✨

What a phenomenal kickoff to the Cultivate Summit 2026 this morning. We opened with a real, grounded conversation on The State of the Ecosystem for small businesses. It set the tone in the best way.

A few gems we’re holding close:
▪️ Relationships are everything.
“I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I do have a drawer full of knives.” 🔥

▪️ Behaviors have shifted.
Post-pandemic, convenience winsover experience. Yet, we MUST intentionally show up for small businesses if we want them to survive.

▪️ Credit trauma is REAL.
Many founders have been conditioned to avoid debt at all costs. That history matters. How we introduce financial tools and opportunities must be handled with care.

▪️ The capital gap is nuanced.
Traditional banks may price risk high. Predatory lenders step in quickly when they say no. But there are solutions in the middle—founders just need better visibility into the full capital stack.

▪️ Money isn’t always the answer.
Sometimes the real unlock is partnerships and customers. Expand the ask.

We’re grateful to be in community. And we’re even more excited about the partners we’re building with in real time. So much is coming.

2 Hackathons. 2 Competitions Judged. 1 Powerful Day.

We’re having a blast in community today!

First stop: the HBCU Innovation Experience powered by — lifting up student builders from + .

Then straight into the SecureCell Hackathon Sprint powered by — where + + + are bringing bold ideas to life.

There’s nothing like witnessing brilliance in real time — right here at home in Huntsville.

Experiential learning looks like this.

Laptops are open.
Questions are flying.
Ideas are pressure-tested in real-time.

When students design fintech prototypes and wrestle with real-world constraints that impact the everyday lives of their communities — something shifts.

They stop asking, “Can I?”
And start asking, “How do WE build it better?”

This is what happens with education, ecosystem builders, and capital align.

Go bulldogs. 🐾 | x x .io

“You can’t compete with us because we WANT you to win.” —— collaboration over competition, in practice.

This morning, we spent time being nurtured at the BE BOLD SUMMIT — thanks to our friends at who held space for us at their table. 🤝🏾

We made new biz besties, learned how to break habits of perfectionism, and enjoyed breakfast with +100 women-owned business leaders. 💛

Major shout out to the economic development centers behind today’s major success — + + + + + ! 🔥

Behind the scenes at Alabama A&M, where students are designing financial solutions for the communities they care about!

Students were back in the lab today, kicking off Week 2: Market Research in Un(der)banked Communities. The energy among this cohort of builders is amazing!

x x .io

Something powerful is happening. The South has something to say, and it’s going to come from the mouths + minds of young people who are naturally positioned to become the gurus of fintech.

HBCU students deserve to be at the very epicenter of fintech innovation. We’re grateful to be building alongside partners like and who share that vision and are investing in what’s possible.

There is so much ahead. We’re actively piloting, iterating, and shaping infrastructure designed to outlive us.

Stay close as we build, learn, and imagine what comes next… together.