Breaking Barriers: Our Week One Journey into FinTech and Interledger

A Breakthrough Opportunity
We’ve grown used to being told what we can’t have—what opportunities weren’t built with us in mind. So, when Alabama A&M University was named a 2025 NextGen grantee, it felt bigger than an announcement; it felt like a breakthrough. By receiving this grant from the Interledger Foundation, new ventures and pathways are now being explored in the FinTech space.

Stepping into the Unknown
Through this grant, 12 high-achieving business college scholars were selected to transform innovative ideas into real-world businesses—quite literally at their fingertips. As students in the Dollarcraft Program, we are participating in a 13-week interdisciplinary challenge exploring digital banking, entrepreneurship, and Interledger Protocol–powered financial tools. Midway through the program, four computer engineering students will join us to translate our business canvases into functional technical prototypes. Through applied research and a culminating hackathon, we will present our solutions to the broader Interledger community and the wider fintech industry. This piece shares our early realizations and initial reactions to what is quickly becoming a transformative experience.

Before the start of the Interledger 13-week interdisciplinary program, our understanding of the FinTech world was limited. We knew it existed, but we did not fully understand it—and often, that is how change begins. Many people do not recognize the future as it unfolds until the opportunity to engage with it is directly in front of them. History reflects this pattern clearly. During the dot-com boom, countless startups pursued rapid growth and bold visions, focusing less on immediate profit and more on long-term possibilities. That same sense of momentum and belief now exists with the Interledger Protocol.

Recognizing Opportunity
After hearing Casey speak to our business classes about FinTech and the Interledger program, we recognized the importance of placing ourselves in front of this opportunity. We applied to be part of the Interledger grant at Alabama A&M University hoping to gain more knowledge. What we did not anticipate was realizing just how much of FinTech we had yet to understand—or how little exposure this space has received, particularly within the HBCU community. We have uncovered an opportunity that has the potential to reshape transactions and banking systems over the next 10 to 15 years.

Week One: Awareness and Reflection
Week One brought our minds together—not just as students, but as emerging business owners. Through guided exercises, we were challenged to examine our financial literacy backgrounds and economic experiences. The process was intentional and, at times, vulnerable. The goal was never comparison or judgment, but awareness. These conversations revealed how uneven access to financial knowledge remains and how deeply those gaps influence opportunity, both across generations and within our own.

As the week unfolded, awareness turned into momentum. Conversations grew more intentional; ideas began to take shape and challenges we had previously overlooked became clearer. Concepts like financial inclusion, access, and innovation were no longer abstract—they became personal and deeply connected to the communities we hope to serve.

Learning from Industry Leaders

We also had the opportunity to learn from Faheed Alli-Balogun, Head of Product at Chimoney, a company built using the Interledger Protocol. Through real-world examples, he challenged how we think about money movement in modern financial systems. One analogy reshaped our understanding entirely: the speed of information moves like a Ferrari, while the speed of money moves like a bicycle. Emails travel instantly across the globe, yet money—something just as essential—still lags behind, slowed by outdated infrastructure and closed financial systems.

This realization pushed us to question why value cannot move as freely as information and encouraged us to imagine open-loop financial models that prioritize accessibility and seamless money mobility.

Looking Ahead
By the end of Week One, it was clear that this experience would demand more than technical understanding alone. It would require collaboration, critical thinking, and the courage to challenge long-standing systems. Week One did more than introduce us to FinTech—it reshaped how we view opportunity, innovation, and our role in building the future of financial systems.

As we step beyond Week One, the horizon of possibility stretches wider than we could have imagined. Each challenge, each insight, and each connection has only scratched the surface of what FinTech—and the Interledger Protocol—can unlock. We know the road ahead will be demanding, filled with complex problems and unexpected lessons, but we also know that the opportunities we uncover could redefine how value moves, how communities’ access financial tools, and how we, as emerging innovators, shape the future. The weeks ahead promise growth, discovery, and breakthroughs, and we are ready to meet them head-on—curious, challenged, and inspired. What comes next may change not only our perspective but the very landscape of digital finance itself.

Authors:
Timothy Smith III (Accounting, 2028)
Jeremiah Provost (Business Administration, 2027)