Fernanda Ribeiro left her airline sales career ten years ago to take a break and rethink a stressful professional career. During this sabbatical leave, without pay from her former employer, she is faced with a new concern: how to manage her money.
It didn’t take long for Fernanda to realize that other black people like her were facing the same challenge, and often on a larger scale. They struggled to manage their personal finances as well as the money from their small business, which they depended on for their livelihood.
He eventually created a network to connect businessmen who were struggling to keep their businesses healthy because they were virtually excluded from the financial system, without access to credit or even bank accounts. It was a way of trying to help each other, of exchanging experiences.
“We saw that they couldn’t fulfill large orders because they didn’t have credit,” explains Fernanda, now 40 years old.
It was the beginning of the company that she founded two years later in partnership with her husband, the publicist Sérgio All, who was refused loans for his own business by banks. They then launched Conta Black, a digital financial services platform, including current accounts, cards, loans, insurance and investments, of which the executive is chairman.
On opening night in 2017, they were expected to open around 100 accounts, but the next day they already had around 1,000 account holders.
But Fernanda quickly realized that money alone was not enough to ensure the prosperity of her clients, the majority of whom were black entrepreneurs. Without a support network or mentorship, which she began providing during her sabbatical, her chances of survival would be slim.
“Financial education is a major failure within our black community,” says Fernanda, who won the Todas Award in the Digital Connectivity and Inclusion category, which recognizes women who combat digital exclusion and promote inclusion through programs, courses, consulting and other initiatives.
This is what Conta Black has brought to its approximately 70,000 customers, the majority of whom are black, spread across Brazil. Compared to a traditional bank, Fernanda’s clientele may seem small, but it is the size that allows the platform to offer so-called subsidized credits. In other words, in addition to offering money, the service provided includes assistance to the entrepreneur and his business, including financial education.
“Our base (of customers) is small, but what we want is to do something that has a social impact,” she says, who seeks, for example, to connect her account holders with start-up investors. “Our customers also reflect what black entrepreneurship is in Brazil: ethnic products, like black doll and slipper stores, and hair salons.”
The average loan amount for small businesses ranges from R$20,000 to R$70,000, accompanied by mentoring. Conta Black’s business model, Fernanda explains, means the platform is very focused on face-to-face service, finding and bringing people together.
Conta Black’s financial products are also more personalized for Black entrepreneurs. In terms of investments, you can start investing from R$10, a design developed in partnership with Genial Investimentos.
Financial education is a huge failure within our black community
The financial investment advisors are black, as are 80% of Conta Black’s clients, a profile quite different from that which predominates in the Brazilian financial world, made up of white men.
“There are still a lot of problems to solve in the financial sector. We need to abandon the logic of opening an app to solve the problem of laziness in person,” Fernanda says of the effort to be physically close to customers.
Aside from the professional crisis that triggered the launch of Conta Black, Fernanda says she is fulfilled in her career because she has a goal, which is to see her clients’ businesses grow, while managing to meet her financial needs.
“Living intentionally makes me happy, but purpose alone is not enough to pay the bills,” says the leader. This is the main lesson that Fernanda seeks to teach every client that Conta Black gives credit to.
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