On April 23, Chime partnered with Clark Atlanta University for their seventh annual financial literacy, innovation and technology conference. The conference held a “Pitch for Progress” competition, where students pitched how they would improve the campus community if they were given $10,000.
Chime’s head of social impact Kira Traore was present at the competition and spoke with rolling out about their partnership with Clark Atlanta, her role at Chime, and why students should continue to pitch themselves.
Why was it important for Chime to partner with Clark Atlanta University for this event?
Chime is really focused on creating access and I think that aligns well with HBCU campuses and trying to create equality, equity, and financial services. That’s what HBCUs are trying to do in the education space. I think there’s a nice alignment there and Atlanta is one of our biggest membership populations is from Atlanta, so being in the community is important for us.
Why should students continue to pitch themselves and their businesses?
We’re trying to unlock financial progress, and entrepreneurship is such a cool pathway to own your financial destiny. That entrepreneurial spirit doesn’t mean that you have to start your own business. I think it also translates into lots of jobs and life experiences, so it’s definitely something that’s important for us to continue to support and push people forward as they [figure out how their financial journey is going to look.
With your role at Chime, how are you continuing to push financial literacy?
There are so many barriers that are systemic barriers to entry, so my job is to help break down some of those. Getting out into the community and understanding what are the needs of this community is huge for us, so that means hearing from the students, and what they’re facing helps us then shape what kind of support and how we’re supporting the community.
