Thomas Schumacher 2025 Speaker

Tom Schumacher is the Director of Investments at Open Road where the leads the origination, structuring and negotiations of private debt transactions (primarily bridge loans) to impact-oriented businesses, project developers and funds. He has completed and closed over 100 transactions worth $75+ million of bridge loans. Prior to his work at Open Road, Tom was a Digital Finance Specialist at the Development Finance Corporation (DFC) where he identified, evaluated, and structured opportunities in fintech and financial inclusion. Prior to DFC, Tom was a Senior Advisor at USAID’s Global Development Lab where he made grants to social enterprises, nonprofits, and impact evaluations within several innovation programs including Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) and the Scaling Off-Grid Energy Grand Challenge. Tom has experience in international development, startups, and financial markets through a variety of positions including as co-founder of Tala and board member of Fairbanc, both fintech companies focusing on underserved populations in Africa and Asia.