Georgia Tech Partnership Accelerates Inclusive Innovation
AS REPORTED IN a new Equifax infographic, 63 million American adults are either unbanked or underbanked. One in five adults in the U.S. lack the credit history needed to establish a credit score. Developing new ways to reach underserved, underbanked and credit-rebuilding consumers is the basis for a new Equifax and Georgia Institute of Technology (“Georgia Tech”) research partnership.
As part of this initiative, the Georgia Tech Financial Services Innovation Lab will leverage anonymized Equifax data assets to further its innovative research. Equifax data scientists will also provide hands-on data education to speed research time. The goal is to increase consumer access to credit and support growth in fintech entrepreneurship in Atlanta.
The Georgia Tech Financial Services Innovation Lab aims to be a hub for finance education, research and industry in the Southeast United States. The lab acts as a platform to connect faculty and students across Georgia Tech with the financial services industry and fintech entrepreneurs. The fintech industry is one of Georgia’s fastest-growing sectors, and Atlanta is a major global center for financial technology. Equifax and Georgia Tech intend to facilitate inclusive innovation in the fintech industry through university sponsored startup accelerator programs. Equifax has sponsored doctoral dissertation research and capstone projects within the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business since 2016.
“We appreciate having access to comprehensive alternative data sources and credit modeling experts through the Equifax Data Science Lab,” said Professor Sudheer Chava, Alton M. Costley Chair at Scheller College of Business, Georgia Tech. “We are excited to take the next step to strengthen our partnership with Equifax in conducting research to improve people’s financial lives.”
