Originally published in Principal Financial Group 2024 Sustainability Report
Advocating for financial inclusion
Inclusive financial access
We believe financial education and opportunity can lift up people of all backgrounds, all around the world. Weāre working to reach them with information and resources that resonate, with additional support from PrincipalĀ® Foundation.
Our approach
Itās important to us to meet people where they are on their financial journey and develop pathways to economic mobility and financial empowerment. To do this, we need to better understand the barriers of reaching financial security across the globeāand why certain groups are more affected than others. This helps inform the role we can play to broaden access to financial security.
One of our core strategies is to better serve diverse businesses, which historically have had barriers to access financial products and services. In 2021, together with Principal Foundation,1 we committed to double the number of diverse small and midsize businesses (SMBs) we support through product access, capital access programs,2 community development, and financial education by 2025. At the beginning of 2024, we increased that goal to triple the number of diverse SMBs and entrepreneurs by 2025 from our 2020 baseline.
Progress towards our updated 2025 diverse SMB goal
- Progress: 26,794
- Goal: 30,000
Weāre working toward this goal by:
- Making insurance and savings products more accessible to diverse business owners
- Advocating for more equitable access to capital for diverse businesses
and entrepreneurs - Providing insights, education, and support for diverse SMBs to tackle common obstacles and take action on issues that are important to them
- Providing financial education that empowers diverse SMBs to make informed financial decisions, manage risks, and position their businesses for long-term success and sustainability
Our actions and performance in 2024
Our progress
Out of our total number of SMB customers in the U.S. in 2024, 9.7%3 were owned by diverse business owners, namely women and people of color. In 2024, we ended the year supporting 12,049 diverse SMBs and entrepreneurs, exceeding our annual target of 7,700. Weāre at approximately 89% of our goal heading into our last year.
- 6.6%: SMBs owned by women in 2024
- 3.2%: SMBs owned by people of color in 2024
This year Principal continued to provide support to SCORE, a nonprofit organization that aims to foster vibrant small business success, offering content, tools, and mentorship at no cost to business owners and entrepreneurs.
Principal sponsored two webinars on the SCORE platform related to starting and growing a business, as well as four articles on the SCORE website. Principal also sponsored five competitions across the U.S. where small business founders pitched their company for cash awards. These initiatives continue to provide valuable resources to the small business community to help overcome barriers to access and resources in hopes of promoting their sustained success.
- Find resources for entrepreneurs
Elevate by Principal continued to support the growth of small and midsize businesses (SMBs) with data-driven insights, one-on-one consultations, and discounts on products and services businesses use every day.
This free platform unlocks time and resources empowering business owners to grow their business with confidence. To date, weāve helped more than 1,250 businesses through Elevate by Principal.
- Access these resources
Extending reach to international markets
Our international offices offer local education and support to their communities to enhance financial access in the regions where we reside and operate outside the U.S.
Our Principal Investment Opportunities video series in Thailand provides investment outlooks, market updates, fund recommendations, and other key insights.
In 2024, volunteers from Principal and Cuprum supported Fondo Esperanza, offering education to 80 entrepreneurs and business owners in Chile. They also provided a āHousehold Economy Workshopā to the student community in schools for families with limited financial resources.
The workshop covered budgeting and prioritizing home expenses across five cities impacting more than 100 individuals.
Through a volunteer initiative in Brazil, employees are empowered to teach financial education and business classes to public high school and elementary school students in SaĢo Paulo. To expand access to financial education across other Brazilian states, and with support from Principal Foundation, the project developed a free mobile app-based game to allow young people to learn about financial literacy in an entertaining way with over 13,500 downloads at the end of 2024.
FuturEd, our free virtual financial education platform in Brazil, offers a course with three modules (financial planning, private pension, and investments), 19 lessons, and more than two and half hours of content. In 2024, we impacted 4,500 users through the platform.
What is the GFII?
Global Financial Inclusion Index
Clear and consistent measures of progress matter in financial inclusion. This means using data-driven insights to understand the barriers to financial security and setting goals and establishing accountability to address gaps.
This year we continued our partnership with the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) to release the Global Financial Inclusion Index (Index). The Index ranks 41 markets on three clearly defined pillars of financial inclusion: government support, financial system support, and employer support. Now in its third year, the report provides a comprehensive and comparative evaluation of financial inclusion on a global scale.
This yearās results demonstrated that financial inclusion has improved globally for the second consecutive year.
Employers in young Asian economies have stepped up to help consumers and businesses weather local market economic challenges and Latin American markets saw an increase in financial inclusion with advancements in digital financial infrastructure.
Even as governments, financial systems, and employers are taking measures to increase financial support, consumer perception of financial inclusion has fallen as people felt the effects of inflation, economic contraction, and wider financial strain.
Principal continues to work toward increasing financial inclusion by bolstering the collective efforts to increase access to useful and affordable financial products and services alongside governments and others in the private sector.
- Global Financial Inclusion Index: 2024 report
To learn more, read the Principal Financial Group 2024 Sustainability Report.
Principal Financial Group Foundation, Inc (“PrincipalĀ® Foundation”) is a duly recognized 501(c)(3) entity focused on providing philanthropic support to programs that build financial security in the communities where Principal Financial Group, Inc. (“Principal’ operates. While Principal Foundation receives funding from Principal, Principal Foundation is a distinct independent, charitable entity. Principal Foundation does not practice any form of investment advisory services and is not authorized to do so. Ā© 2025 Principal Foundation.
Insurance products issued by Principal National Life Insurance Co (except in NY) and Principal Life Insurance CompanyĀ®. Plan administrative services offered by Principal Life. Principal Funds, Inc. is distributed by Principal Funds Distributor, Inc. Securities offered through Principal Securities, Inc., member SIPC and/or independent broker/dealers. Referenced companies are members of the Principal Financial GroupĀ®, Des Moines, IA 50392.
1Principal Community Relations supports the communities where affiliates of the Principal Financial GroupĀ®, Des Moines, IA 50392 operates. Insurance products and plan administrative services provided through Principal Life Insurance CompanyĀ®, a member of the Principal Financial Group, Des Moines, IA 50392. Principal Financial Group Foundation, Inc. (āPrincipalĀ® Foundationā) is a duly recognized 501(c)(3) entity focused on providing philanthropic support to programs that build financial security in the communities where Principal Financial Group, Inc. (āPrincipalā) operates. While Principal Foundation receives funding from Principal, Principal Foundation is a distinct, independent, charitable entity. Principal Foundation does not practice any form of investment advisory services and is not authorized to do so.
2Capital access programs refer to investments in and grant-making to third-party organizations that provide access to capital. Grants are made from PrincipalĀ® Foundation. Diverse SMBs include businesses owned or controlled by women, people of color, veterans, members of the LGBTQ+ community and individuals with different abilities.
3Represents small and mid sized businesses in the U.S. owned by women or people of color. Not captured here is approximately 0.1% of small and midsized businesses that are owned by people of color who are also women.
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