FAI

What FAI does

Financial Access Initiative (FAI), legally The Financial Access Initiative, is a non-profit research center founded in 2006 and hosted at NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, 105 E 17th Street, New York, NY. Its mission is to study how financial services can better serve poor households and small businesses through rigorous, longitudinal research on financial inclusion, microfinance, household finance, and poverty measurement.

FAI's core technology is methodological rather than software-based: year-long longitudinal financial diaries that capture high-frequency household and small-business financial transactions, supplemented by randomized controlled trials (RCTs), structured surveys, and qualitative fieldwork. Its flagship research programs are the US Financial Diaries (launched 2011), the Small Firm Diaries Global project (initiated 2016, expanded across six initial countries — Colombia, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Fiji — eventually covering more than 1,000 firms in 8 countries), and the Small Firm Diaries USA study (launched 2025, with more than 80 small firms in low-income U.S. communities). Additional research areas include mobile banking impacts, cash transfers, guaranteed income (Compton Pledge RCT), poverty measurement methodology, and evaluations of practitioner programs (e.g., Shared Success with the Aspen Institute).

FAI operates as a non-profit research organization rather than a commercial entity. It does not sell products or services; it disseminates research outputs free of charge through publications, working papers, a blog (financialaccess.org/blog), a YouTube channel, the faiV email newsletter, and the faiVLive webinar series. Revenue is not publicly disclosed and derives from institutional grants (e.g., Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth) and NYU affiliation, with no external venture or equity backing. The organization is led by Executive Director Jonathan Morduch, Managing Director Timothy Ogden, and SFD USA Project Manager Tracy Cole, with a stated headcount of 1–10.

Name

FAI

Legal name

Financial Access Initiative

Website

https://financialaccess.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Financial Access Initiative (FAI) is a non-profit research center at NYU Wagner, founded 2006, that conducts longitudinal financial-diaries and RCT-based research on financial inclusion, household finance, and poverty for academics, policymakers, CDFIs, and funders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

FAI is a nonprofit research center at NYU Wagner that conducts longitudinal empirical research on how financial services affect poor households and small firms. It produces research publications, working papers, and policy briefs; runs the US Financial Diaries and Small Firm Diaries (global and USA) projects using financial-diaries and randomized controlled trial methodologies; and disseminates findings through the faiVLive webinar series, blog, video library, and the faiV newsletter.

Product overview

The Financial Access Initiative (FAI) is a research center at NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, founded in 2006, focused on financial inclusion, development, and poverty research. FAI does not offer commercial products or services; instead, it produces research publications, hosts the faiVLive webinar series, and manages research projects including Small Firm Diaries and US Financial Diaries. The organization disseminates findings through publications, blog posts, videos, and a newsletter, serving as a knowledge hub for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners in financial inclusion rather than as a product or platform provider.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Small Firm Diaries (Global)
• Small Firm Diaries USA
• US Financial Diaries
• faiVLive Webinar Series
• faiV Newsletter
• Research Publications and Working Papers

Quantifiable outcome

• Increased urban-to-rural remittances by 26% through mobile banking adoption in Bangladesh
• +4 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFAI is hosted at NYU Wagner as a research center, with faculty members including Jonathan Morduch serving as Professor of Public Policy and Economics at NYU Wagner.
• Mastercard Center for Inclusive GrowthmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerSupports FAI's work including the Small Firm Diaries Global study and faiVLive webinar series. Part of Household Financial Security Insight Community.
• FinDev GatewaymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosts faiVLive webinars on microfinance and financial inclusion topics with FAI at NYU.
• Aspen Institute (Economic Opportunities Program)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFAI led the evaluation of Aspen Institute's Shared Success demonstration program, working with CDFIs to assess job quality improvements.
• EA ConsultantscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerFAI worked with EA Consultants to conduct fieldwork for the Shared Success midterm evaluation.
• JPMorgan Chase InstitutemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner on Small Firm Diaries USA research, with Chi Mac (Executive Director) participating as panelist in launch webinar.
• LiftFund Inc.majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCDFI partner in Small Firm Diaries USA study; Amy Hereford (President & CEO) participated as panelist discussing small business ecosystem and disaster support.
• Innovation Works BaltimoremajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCDFI partner in Small Firm Diaries USA study; Jay Nwachu (President & CEO) participated as panelist discussing small business support in Baltimore.
• Development Impact Group (British International Investment)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPaddy Carter (Director of Research & Policy) served as panelist on Small Firm Diaries Global webinar.
• CGAPmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSophie Sirtoine (CEO) participated in microfinance future webinar; historically connected through shared research interests.
• Compton PledgemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership on guaranteed income and cash transfer experiments in Compton, California.
• University of OxfordminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMuhammad Meki (Associate Professor) participated as panelist on Small Firm Diaries Global findings webinar.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor): World Bank-hosted global think tank focused on financial inclusion research and policy advisory for poor households. Direct peer to FAI given overlapping mission around financial inclusion evidence, RCTs, and policy engagement with the same funder base (Gates, Mastercard).
• Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA): Non-profit that uses randomized controlled trials to evaluate programs serving the poor, including financial inclusion, cash transfers, and microenterprise. Direct peer given shared commitment to RCTs, longitudinal measurement, and working with academic researchers.
• J-PAL (Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab): MIT-based global research center running field experiments on poverty, including microfinance, financial inclusion, and small business finance. Direct peer because of shared RCT methodology, academic center model, and overlapping study geographies.
• BFA Global (Bankable Frontier Associates): Research and advisory firm specializing in inclusive finance, digital financial services, and small business finance for underserved customers. Direct peer because it produces similar financial-inclusion research for fintechs, foundations, and donor clients.
• Center for Financial Inclusion (Accion): Part of Accion, producing research, publications, and convenings on financial inclusion with a focus on customer protection and responsible inclusion. Direct peer given the same audience of funders, policymakers, and inclusive-finance practitioners.
• FinDev Gateway (FinDev International): Knowledge and media platform co-hosting faiVLive webinars with FAI, curating publications and resources on inclusive finance. Direct peer in terms of content, audience, and dissemination channels, though built primarily as a knowledge platform rather than a research producer.

Broad incumbents

• Grameen Foundation: Long-standing non-profit implementing microfinance and digital financial services programs worldwide with an internal research and learning function. Comparable as a broader incumbent with overlapping financial inclusion mission, but its scope extends well beyond research into direct program delivery.
• UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF): UN agency working on financial inclusion and local development finance in LDCs, with research, policy, and program design functions. Broader incumbent operating globally with similar mission but vastly larger mandate spanning policy advocacy, blended finance, and direct program execution.

Others

• Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth: Funder and research partner of FAI supporting Small Firm Diaries and faiVLive work. Functions more as a strategic partner and funder than a direct competitor, but its own research output on household financial security and inclusive growth positions it as a comparable knowledge-producer.

Emerging players

• JPMorgan Chase Institute: Corporate research arm producing data-driven research on household and small business finances, including a partnership with FAI on Small Firm Diaries USA An emerging player whose small-business financial diaries work directly overlaps with FAI's flagship project, though its mandate extends beyond financial inclusion.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/PLN8IAztFNybDSxQou1SQ2IharKxC1aBGA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fai-nyu
• Xx.com/financialaccess

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about FAI