Carol Caruso is an innovative leader with 20 years global business development, inclusive finance and digital technology experience. Currently the CEO and Co-Founder of Bloom Impact, a social impact, Fintech startup, Carol has extensive experience and passion in driving social impact, innovation and inclusive finance through the use of innovative technology such as mobile apps/payments, online platforms, biometrics, remittances and agent networks.
She has worked on a wide variety of digital inclusive finance initiatives and collaborated with partners such as leading Telcos (Safaricom, Airtel, MTN, Tigo), Fintech vendors, payment companies (Visa, Mastercard), Central Banks, Social Impact investors and private companies. Carol has held prior positions as SVP Digital Channels & Tech at Accion International, Managing Director of Triple Jump Advisory Services – a Dutch responsible investment manager, Financial Inclusion Expert at Kiva and EMEA Director at Broadvision. Carol brings a unique combination of experience from having worked in Europe, US, Africa, Asia, and LATAM within both private and public sectors.
She is a board member and advisor for several social impact startups in Africa and the US, and a mentor and judge for the UC Berkeley BigIdeas startup competition and MIT’s Inclusive Innovation Challenge and $100K Entrepreneurship Competition. During the 2017-18 academic year, Caruso joined Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government as a joint Visiting Social Innovator (VSI) at the Social Innovation and Change Initiative and Visiting Hauser Leader at the Center for Public Leadership.