From Inclusion to Ascension: Why Measuring Financial Health is Our Compass

Takeaways from EMERGE 2025 – Innovation Breakfast Panel, Beyond the Business, presented by Citi

We were honored to be invited by Citi to speak at the 2025 EMERGE Financial Health Conference in San Diego as part of the Innovation Breakfast panel “Beyond the Business: Measuring the Financial Health of Entrepreneurs and Consumers.” Our CEO, Paul Quintero, joined a powerful lineup of fellow leaders: Sheri Flanigan-Vazquez of Justine PETERSEN, Bulbul Gupta of Pacific Community Ventures, and Justine Zinkin of Neighborhood Trust and moderated by Taylor C. Nelms, Vice President of Research and Insights, Financial Health Network. Together, we explored one of the most urgent questions in financial inclusion: how do we know if we’re truly making a difference?

At Ascendus, we’ve always believed that access to capital is a right, not a privilege. For over 30 years, we’ve delivered loans where traditional institutions wouldn’t go – serving entrepreneurs who are overlooked, underestimated, and undercapitalized. But a few years ago, we reached a profound realization. Access is not enough.

That “aha moment” redefined our strategy. We saw firsthand that capital alone doesn’t create stability. We needed to move beyond inclusion – and pursue mobility. That shift became our north star and gave rise to something new: the Path to Ascension.

What is the Path to Ascension?

It’s more than a metaphor. It’s our long-term model for supporting each client’s financial journey. Yes, we lend capital – but we also provide coaching, and tools to help entrepreneurs spend wisely, save intentionally, borrow responsibly, and plan confidently.

The Path to Ascension recognizes what we call “the human journey upward.” A journey not defined by where someone starts, but by how far they can go with the right support, resources, and trust.

Why We Measure Financial Health

As Paul shared on the panel, we asked ourselves a powerful question: How do we know our work is transformational? The answer became clear – we must measure financial health.

Traditional metrics like income, credit score, or repayment rates offer important data points, but they don’t capture the full picture. Financial health reflects something more holistic. It centers the client’s lived experience – asking: Do they have the systems in place to be both resilient and opportunistic?

We adopted the Financial Health Network’s FinHealth Score® as a national framework because it’s actionable, benchmarkable, and rooted in the client’s perspective. It focuses on four core behaviors – spending, saving, borrowing, and planning – that drive long-term financial outcomes.

But we went deeper.

We had access to rich, automated client data. That gave us the ability to look at financial health in real time – to see early signals of improvement or instability, like a leading indicator. More importantly, it allowed us to hone in on the “borrow” pillar – the behavior most aligned with our mission as a lender.

That’s why we built the Ascendus Borrower Index (ABI). ABI helps us track progress and intervene more effectively. We follow clients for up to five years after a loan, using the ABI to better understand where they’re thriving, where they’re struggling, and how we can support their continued journey of financial ascension.

Because for us, financial health isn’t just a metric – it’s a map. It shows us where a client is, where they’re headed, and how we can walk with them, every step of the way.

What We’ve Learned

Through this effort, we’ve learned that:

• Financial health is not linear. It ebbs and flows with life’s challenges–childcare, housing, seasonal income, or unexpected illness.
• Trust matters. Our clients open up when we walk beside them, not above them. They see us not just as a lender, but as a partner.
• Coaching changes outcomes. Clients who receive credit coaching improve faster–and sustain those gains longer.

The journey of Ricardo Guarin Parra, a Colombian entrepreneur in Miami, is a perfect example. When he joined Ascendus, his credit score was 584–not because he had defaulted, but because his credit utilization was high. A perfect match for our Get Ready Program. With a $500 line of credit, personalized coaching, and a tailored action plan, Ricardo rebuilt his credit. He automated payments, separated business and personal finances, and improved every aspect of his credit profile. Within a year, his score climbed to 703, and his credit line increased tenfold.

The Bigger Picture

Only 30% of Americans are financially healthy. This is not a niche issue – it’s a systemic one. If we want to build a more inclusive economy, we must equip small business owners not just to participate, but to prosper.

At Ascendus, we believe no one should desire a lower financial quality of life tomorrow than today. That’s why we continue to measure, listen, and walk with our clients – this way up.

Join the Journey of Ascension.

Support our mission at ascendus.org or meet the entrepreneurs climbing their own path in our Stories of Ascension.