Eva Wong: Pioneering Financial Inclusion Through Borrowell
In Canada’s busy fintech scene, where new ideas meet the everyday problems of managing money, few names stand out as much as Eva Wong. Wong is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Borrowell Inc. She has changed the way millions of Canadians think about credit, debt, and their financial health. In 2014, it was a risky idea, but now it has become one of the largest consumer fintech companies in the country, helping over three million members with free credit scores, AI-based suggestions, and tools for building long-term financial success. Wong’s journey, from working as a management consultant in global boardrooms to running a disruptive startup, shows her resilience, empathy, and unending desire to make financial knowledge available to everyone. In 2025, when she is 48 years old, her story will not only be one of business success, but also of changing what it means to be accessible in an industry that is often unclear and scary.
Eva Wong’s path to fintech was anything but straight. She was born and raised in Canada and got her Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University’s Smith School of Business, which is known for turning out business leaders. But Wong wanted more than just a regular corporate career. She got her Master’s in Public Administration in International Development from Harvard University’s Kennedy School. This degree gave her a lot of experience with problems in global policy and how nonprofits work. “I wanted to know how systems could be built to help communities,” she said in a 2022 interview with Canadian Business. This academic background helped her get a job that combined private sector strategy with public good.
Her first few years in the workforce were full of different experiences. Wong started out as a management consultant at Oliver Wyman, where she helped Fortune 500 clients make big changes to their businesses. The job required accuracy and flexibility, which would later be very useful for growing a startup. After that, she worked in global business development for Maple Leaf Foods, one of Canada’s biggest food companies. She opened up new markets on all five continents. But Wong’s heart led her to work that made a difference. She moved to the Caribbean and worked as a consultant for the OTF Group on projects to improve the economy. Later, she worked for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. These jobs, which were often in places with few resources, taught her how powerful new ideas can be for people who don’t have enough of them. “I’ve worked in places where having access to basic financial tools could change lives,” she said in a Globe and Mail profile. When she got back to Canada, she worked for nonprofits like Emmanuel International and The Meeting House in senior positions. This helped her gain experience in capacity-building projects.
Wong was a mother of two by the time she was in her late 30s. She had to balance her family with her growing desire to start her own business. She didn’t have any experience in tech or finance, which are the kinds of people she jokingly calls “24-year-old hoodie-wearing dudes.” But in 2014, she worked with Andrew Graham, a former credit analyst who was angry about how hard it was to understand Canada’s credit system. Graham quit his job to make a prototype for a platform that would let people get instant, low-interest personal loans instead of having to deal with credit card debt that could go up to 20% or 30%. Canadians were in debt for billions of dollars at high interest rates, and they had no way of knowing how healthy their credit was. At the time, getting a credit score cost up to $20 and required going to a bureau in person, which kept many people from getting one.
Wong’s entry was a happy accident. She and Graham worked together on Toronto Homecoming, a successful nonprofit she co-founded to help people who had moved away from Toronto find jobs when they returned. This side project gave her the business drive she needed. Wong said in a Women of Influence article, “Andrew had this vision for better credit access, and I saw the social justice angle.” She was in charge of operations, partnerships, and scaling when she joined as a co-founder. Graham was in charge of product and CEO duties. That year, Borrowell started in Toronto and was incubated at the DMZ accelerator at Toronto Metropolitan University. This gave them mentorship and seed money.
The company’s founding principle was simple but revolutionary: give people the information they need to make better financial decisions. The Borrowell Loan was the company’s first product. It was a digital personal loan with fixed rates that could be approved in minutes. But in 2016, things changed for the better when Canada got its first free Equifax credit scores and reports. No fees, no hard inquiries—just weekly monitoring and learning. “We wanted to show people what credit really is,” Wong said. This made a tool that was only available to rich people or people who knew how to use credit available to everyone. This was important because TD surveys showed that 43% of Canadians didn’t know that late bill payments hurt their scores.
Growth was very fast, but there were problems along the way. Borrowell started out with its own money, but it later raised $94.1 million from investors like BDC Capital, Portage Ventures, and Equitable Bank. By 2018, it had teamed up with CIBC to make loan integrations easier and had added credit reports. The purchase of Refresh Financial in 2021 added secured cards and credit-building loans, which are aimed at groups that don’t have access to them, like new immigrants and young renters. Borrowell released “Boost” in 2023. These AI-powered tools help people keep track of their bills and make payments, which helps with the 35% of Equifax scores that are based on payment history. By 2025, there will be services like Rent Advantage, which sends Equifax up to 24 months of rent history without the landlord’s involvement. This helps renters raise their scores by an average of 32 points in seven months for on-time payments.
Borrowell grew to 160 employees in Toronto, Montreal, and Kelowna while Wong was in charge of operations. She put culture first: 50% of her staff were women, and the company got “Best Place to Work” awards for women, mental health, and millennials. “Being humble is important; you need to be okay with being wrong and moving quickly,” she told Destination Toronto. There were a lot of problems: regulatory scrutiny in fintech, economic downturns that made debt worse, and the 2020 pandemic that put a lot of stress on users. Wong relied on her nonprofit background to start free resources during COVID to help with forbearance and relief. “Scary experiences make you stronger,” she said in a 2018 Globe and Mail article about how she got into the business.
Borrowell has a big effect. It has helped billions of people borrow money more wisely and lessened their reliance on predatory lenders with its 3 million members. Users say that tools like Credit Builder help them raise their scores by 20 to 32 points on average. KPMG put it in the top 100 fintech companies in the world, and Deloitte put it fourth on Canada’s Fast 50 list in 2019. Wong has won many awards, including EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 Ontario, Standout 35 on the global Women in FinTech Powerlist, LendIt Fintech Woman of the Year finalist, and Innovate Finance’s 2017 Powerlist. Twitter Canada named her one of the 20 founders to follow. In addition to winning awards, she has a lot of power on boards. She is an advisor at Queen’s Smith School, a director at World Vision Canada and The Scott Mission, and a co-founder of Toronto Homecoming.
Wong’s way of leading is based on including everyone. She says in The Edge magazine, “Financial literacy isn’t a luxury—it’s a right.” Borrowell focuses on groups that are most affected by credit opacity: millennials (88% of 20-39-year-olds on the platform don’t have mortgages), newcomers, and low-income families. AI suggestions make advice more personal, from debt consolidation to insurance, which helps people get “financially fit.” Wong stressed social engagement in a 2024 Business Outstanders profile, saying, “Success means lifting others.” Her work with The Scott Mission helps people in need, and World Vision helps fight poverty around the world.
Wong sees Borrowell as a place where people can get help with all aspects of their financial health. As AI becomes more common, investing and banking are likely to grow. “We’re not just about scores; we’re about stories—helping people rewrite theirs,” she said in a 2023 Innovating Canada Q&A. Even though fintech is getting a lot of attention, Wong stays grounded by baking lemon squares with her kids and surfing to relax. Her positive attitude shines through when she says, “Anyone can be an entrepreneur if they see a problem that needs to be solved.”
Eva Wong’s ten years at Borrowell show that real innovation comes from understanding others. Her goal to make prosperity possible for everyone is very important right now, when the economy is uncertain. Wong is a shining example of how late bloomers with heart can change industries. She is a Harvard-trained consultant who became a fintech pioneer. Borrowell will turn 10 in 2024. One low-interest loan at a time, Canada’s financial future owes her a debt of gratitude.