It’s Women’s History Month and we’re here to kick it off with 4 women who changed the male-dominated fintech industry!
1. Maxine Ryan
Maxine is the co-founder and COO of Bitspark, a Hong Kong-based blockchain-based remittance platform. The platform allows users to send money abroad without needing a bank account or the fees that come along with it. Maxine, who had no formal tech education, was on Forbes’ list of 30 under 30 - Asia - Finance & Venture Capital in 2018.
2. Kathryn Petralia
In 2009, Kathryn and Rob Frohwein co-founded and launched the online small business lender Kabbage. It’s a fully automated platform that enables users to apply in minutes. Kabbage has since given more than $5 billion to small businesses. In 2022, alongside Frohwein, Kathryn started a new fintech company called Keep Financial Technologies. The fintech provides a platform that businesses can use to pay employees in advance bonuses that vest over time. The goal is to offer a tempting benefit to attract highly qualified workers who require cash to pay off debt, purchase a home, or save for retirement. Additionally, these new employees are encouraged to stay a while because they are essentially zero-interest loans that the company repays over time.
3. Angela Strange
“Every Company Will Be a Fintech Company" you’ve heard this saying before, now meet the woman who coined it. Angela is General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, focusing on fintech & Insurance. She is also a member of the Advisory Council on Economic Growth for Canada and a Board member at the C100 - a non-profit company made up of notable Canadian expat tech executives, entrepreneurs, and investors residing and working in Silicon Valley.
4. Anne Boden
Anne with an E is the CEO of Starling Bank, a British neobank. Through its mobile app, the bank helps people effectively manage their finances. It also gained the “Unicorn” title in 2021. She has been a trailblazer in the fintech sector and worked to develop a more inclusive and diverse workforce. She even published a tell-all about the beginning and rise of Starling.
