The Next Builders

Difference Makers · May 4, 2026 · 19m · transcript

There are about 65 certified Native community development financial institutions (CDFIs) in the United States — roughly the same number as a decade ago.

But that’s starting to change.

In Episode 5 of Difference Makers 3.0, Brian Edwards speaks with leaders building new Native CDFIs in Oklahoma, Hawai‘i and the Northeast — part of a growing wave of more than 30 emerging efforts working to expand access to capital in communities that still don’t have it.

The episode features Kristen Wagner of the Native CDFI Network, along with Riley Logsdon and Chris Coburn of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes…