I worked as a summer associate at Accion International's global investment team in the Washington D.C office. Accion International's mission is to give people the financial tools that they need to improve their lives. Within Accion, the global investment team focuses on investing in companies between Series A and Series C through equity or quasi-equity investments. In my role, I supported investment officers in conducting landscape analysis, company screening, and collecting and analyzing due diligence documents. Last year, Accion refreshed its company-wide strategy to focus on financial solutions in embedded finance, agtech finance, and innovations that address the changing nature of work. My primary responsibility during the internship was to develop a better understanding of potential investment opportunities in the Future of Work space. More specifically, I conducted research on market trends, identified archetypes for business models, and helped to prioritize business models that are aligned with Accion's mission to support the underserved segment in emerging markets. Towards the end of the internship, we began screening companies for the high potential business models, shifting the focus from desktop analysis to pipeline development. My work was relevant in accelerating the team's understanding of the space and defining how Accion could responsibly support the changing needs of end clients across Asia, Latin America, and Africa.

At Columbia Business School, I was fortunate to take several classes focusing on impact investing and economic development, including Professor Usher's Impact Investing and Investing in Social Ventures class. In the Impact Investing class, I had the opportunity to learn about the spectrum of investing approached used by impact investors ranging from thematic investing to impact first investing. This class had helped me build a solid foundation in impact investing, especially in understanding the different motivations for investors in this space. In addition, the Investing in Social Ventures class required student teams to conduct due diligence for a social enterprise and submit a final investment recommendation to the Tamer Center. Coming from a consulting background prior to MBA, this experience was extremely applicable to my internship experience as I had learned to collect and analyze due diligence documents, identify common pitfalls, and write an effective investment memo. Aside from these class, the core classes in Corporate Finance and Valuation were helpful introduction courses to investment, which helped me build a basic understanding of different approaches to valuation. During the internship, I built on this knowledge to learn about specific methods applied in valuing companies in emerging markets. Lastly, my experience as an investment associate at Columbia's Microlumiba Fund had also provided a valuable experience in terms of gaining exposure to operations of an impact fund.

The biggest challenge was identifying companies that are aligned with Accion's mission to support the underserved segment access finance. While there are many startups that operate in the relevant business models and these companies all address real life problems in emerging markets, for Accion's involvement to have catalytic impact, it was critical to identify companies that are serving the Accion client segment. Without interviewing founders and understanding the typical end customer type, it was sometimes difficult to make a conclusion based on desktop research alone. Another challenge was to find relevant opportunities for collaboration across the organization. Thanks to my supervisors, I was able to meet and network with different departments across Accion including the Accion Venture Lab and Accion Global Advisory Solutions. With a better understanding of the company's organizational structure and responsibilities of each department, I could leverage expertise from other teams to accelerate my own project and recommend potential collaborations.

Working at Accion proved to be an invaluable experience, immersing me in the world of impact investing within emerging markets. I was deeply motivated by the culture at Accion, where all colleagues are working towards a mission with a deep sense of purpose. As I believe that private sector development is the most sustainable way to reduce extreme poverty, I have always been interested in impact investing as a solution to accelerate development in emerging markets. Prior to CBS, I had worked on consulting projects focused on enhancing financial inclusion, and completed an internship at a holding company that invests in microfinance institutions. The internship enabled me to leverage my past professional experiences and classroom learnings from MBA.

In addition, the team was incredible in organizing career session panels and fun events for the interns across the organization. These events facilitated networking within the organization and offered a unique opportunity to form both professional and personal friendships. The internship experience strengthened my passion in impact investing, while helping me build necessary skillsets for the career transition.