Diego Arnaz

Colombian social entrepreneur who created scalable solutions for urban poverty alleviation

Diego Arnaz (b.1985) is the founder of Compartamos, a Colombian nonprofit that pioneered the use of blockchain technology to combat urban poverty. Launched in 2015, his platform connects informal sector workers with formal banking services through decentralized apps (dApps), enabling micro-saving programs and credit access for street vendors and day laborers. By 2019, the initiative had served over 500,000 users in 12 Latin American cities.

Arnaz's approach integrates gamified financial literacy training with peer-to-peer lending networks, creating self-sustaining economic ecosystems. His 2017 TEDx talk How Blockchain Is Combating Poverty explains the technology's potential to disrupt traditional aid models. The program's success led to partnerships with UNICEF and the Inter-American Development Bank.

In 2018, he expanded operations to include renewable energy microgrids for informal settlements through Compartamos Energy, addressing both economic and environmental challenges. His work is profiled in The Blockchain Revolution in Social Impact, a case study published by Stanford Social Innovation Review. Arnaz was named one of Fortune's 40 Under 40 in 2020.