Arjuna Costa brings rare hands-on experience in microfinance and bank restructuring from rural Africa to venture capital, giving him deep understanding of how financial systems affect vulnerable populations before he became an investor. He combines this operational background with a consumer-behavior lens and system-level bank economics when backing entrepreneurs, and actively looks for inclusive financial innovations in emerging markets that can influence developed markets.

• Focus on the African financial technology landscape, particularly startups that build economic resilience and digitize small merchants. A frequent example is the praise given to the startup Paga for helping small businesses in Nigeria easily access financial services and move money securely.
• Passion for embedded finance and its ability to provide working capital to micro, small, and medium enterprises around the world. For instance, there is strong support for the Brazilian startup Dinie because it uses embedded finance to increase the prosperity of local small businesses by giving them access to critical capital.
• Dedication to building a fair and inclusive global financial ecosystem that serves unmet needs without predatory fees. As an example, the investor championed the Mexican startup Albo for offering financial wellness opportunities to underserved populations, and praised TapTapSend for allowing families to transfer money internationally without facing exploitative costs.
• Interest in workplace safety and protecting historically forgotten segments of the manual workforce. A prime example is the vocal backing of StrongArmTech, a startup creating safety wearables that have drastically improved the daily physical wellbeing of warehouse employees at massive corporations like Walmart.
• Appreciation for founders who actively collaborate across the ecosystem rather than operating in silos. A notable instance is the public celebration of portfolio companies ApolloAgri and AdvisorsPula working directly together to create better outcomes and fairer financial options for their shared agricultural customers.