Interview with Matthew Joseph Martin, Founder & CEO of Blossom Finance

Matthew Joseph Martin is an early pioneer in the application of financial tech for responsible finance. Combining his passion for Islamic finance with his deep financial technology background, Matthew founded Blossom Finance in 2014 which aims to increase the availability and inclusivity of Islamic microfinance.

Matthew's background includes engineering and product management experience in the payment card, money remittance, mobile payments, and mobile banking sectors at venture capital funded, international tech startups Xoom, Boku, and Monitise. He has advised technology startups on various topics including blockchain, payment technology, product management, and sharia finance.

Matthew has spoken to various international audiences on the topics of crowdfunding, microfinance, and blockchain at events in the United States, Bahrain, Dubai, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. He's also an early advocate for proof-of-ownership and distributed ledger technology like Bitcoin; in 2013, he launched his first cryptocurrency business allowing instant purchase of Bitcoin from 27 countries using just a mobile phone. Matthew has studied 8 languages and speaks Indonesian, Farsi, and French at an intermediate level in addition to his native English. Matthew embraced Islam in 2010 and lives in Jakarta, Indonesia with his wife and son.