Everyone talks about impact, but few deliver numbers to back the noise.

Quona traces its origins to a pioneering impact initiative focused on digital financial inclusion sponsored by Accion Frontier Investment Group (FIG); The success of this vehicle demonstrated the potential for profits with purpose in emerging market fintech and attracted the attention of Quona’s early LP institutional backers.

Quona’s founders collaborated with industry leaders— including other fintech funds—to establish and adopt a joint financial inclusion impact measurement framework (Access-Quality-Markets). The intention was to harmonize impact measurement for financial inclusion within industry frameworks (like IRIS) and to move beyond the bespoke frameworks individual funds used at the time.

While still a project within Accion, Quona began harmonizing its impact KPIs with the taxonomy developed by the industry—Impact Reporting + Investment Standards (IRIS). Quona was one of the early adopters of the GIIN’s IRIS framework and the Pulse industry database used to benchmark investors.

The success of FIG garnered the attention of marquee third party investors—in addition to Accion— interested in leveraging technology to expand financial inclusion. Quona was incorporated and the search for co-founders was launched.

Quona co-founders join to formally kicked off the raise of its first fund to scale up and formalize investing in innovative fintech solutions driving financial inclusion in emerging markets.

Quona was instrumental in shaping the Impact Management Project’s Five Dimensions of Impact— for example, helping shift one of the dimensions from “attribution” to “contribution,” which Quona finds to be a more reasonable way to assess indirect, systemic impact.

Fund I Close

These efforts coincided with the successful close and launch of Quona Fund I—the Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund.

Quona’s Fund I, or AFIF, was rated via the Global Impact Investing Rating System (GIIRS).

Quona’s impact framework was harmonized with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Impact Management Project.

Quona was one of the early private fund members of this initiative, formed to help investors shape a more inclusive digital financial ecosystem. Quona shared its metrics and experience in adapting microfinance social performance approaches to fintech.

These efforts coincided with the launch of Quona Fund II (Accion Quona Inclusion Fund).

Quona invested in team members and resources to refine Quona’s impact strategy, with an initial focus on key performance indicators (KPIs), data consistency and alignment with IRIS+ metrics.

In a commitment to continued learning and driving transparency and rigor in the impact investing industry, Quona became an early signatory of the Operating Principles for Impact Management, which now includes nearly 200 signatories.

Impact Assets 50

Quona was first selected for the 2020 Impact 50 Showcase; Quona has been selected in every year since 2020.

As an Impact Principles signatory, Quona committed to impact verification and underwent its first independent verification with BlueMark in 2021.

Fund III

That same year, Quona successfully launched Fund III (Quona Accion Inclusion Fund).

60 Decibels Pilot

Quona piloted an impact outcomes project with 60dB.

Quona launched and integrated Impact Scorecards—which categorically rate and assess current and potential impact—into the firm’s internal investment review process.

Quona also launched its Annual Impact Performance Review process, which leverages ratings from the Impact Scorecards to assess portfolio company impact performance in line with the “ABCs of Impact,” now held by Impact Frontiers.

Quona was part of the design team for the GIIN’s first sector impact benchmark, which focused on financial inclusion.

Quona completed its second BlueMark verification with top quartile performance for 7 of 8 Principles.

Quona participated in BlueMark’s FundID pilot initiative. In this holistic view of Fund III’s impact strategy, governance, management and reporting, Quona received high scores on each pillar, making it only one of three funds to receive a Platinum rating to date.

In 2024, Quona also launched Fund IV.