What’s Next In podcast: Miguel Gamiño Jr. and making urban life more equitable

How a city looks is often different than how it functions, with even the most diverse and cosmopolitan urban centers struggling to bring the growth and extend the benefits of the digital economy to all of its citizens.

On the latest episode of “What’s Next In,” Miguel Gamiño Jr., an El Paso, Texas, native and former tech entrepreneur whose career in information and technology has spanned the continent, discusses why a city only works if it works for everyone.

At Mastercard, Gamiño is an executive vice president who heads City Possible, a unique global network of more than 200 cities of all sizes – from Wollondilly Shire, Australia, population about 50,000, to his adopted hometown of New York City. City Possible convenes city leaders with industry, academia and NGO partners with the vision of advancing inclusive and sustainable urban development through what he calls “the superpower of collaboration.”

Hosted by Arthur Baker, each episode of “What’s Next In” informally explores big ideas and trends in the world of payments technology and beyond. Gamiño explains how cities can play a critical role not only in driving economic growth but empowering financial inclusion and why the need for equitable access has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Before COVID-19, he says, “the digitization of public services and advancement of these quote-unquote smart cities concepts were a ‘nice to have.’ COVID all of a sudden made that a health concern, sometimes a life safety concern … All of sudden, resources can get reprioritized when you’re talking about those kinds of consequences of not acting.”  

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