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Hi, fintech fam! 💜
We are deep in production mode for the Fintech Is Femme Leadership Summit, and let me tell you—I’m having so much fun building this epic day, piece by piece, just for you.
Here are a few exciting updates:
First up, the full agenda and speaker lineup (with new additions still rolling in daily!) is now live on the website. Check it out here—because these sessions are tailor-made to help you grow, scale, and build our way—from women who’ve actually done it.
🔥 New addition alert: We’re officially launching our first-ever Founder Pitch Competition at the Summit!
Here’s the breakdown:
3 founders
3 minutes to pitch
2-minute rapid-fire Q&A from our VC judges
30 minutes total—and a spot on the Fintech Is Femme main stage
This all goes down on April 23 at The Times Center during New York Fintech Week—and it’s your chance to shine in front of the most powerful room in fintech.
Think you’ve got what it takes? Submit your startup here for a shot at major visibility (and maybe even a new investor 👀).
Now, let’s get into today’s column.
INNOVATION
Fintech Is One of the Most Funded Sectors for Women. Here’s What That Really Means.
In my latest Forbes contributor column, I wrote about something that’s top of mind for many of us: where the hell is the funding for women?
The good news? Fintech continues to be one of the most well-funded sectors for female founders.
The bad? We’re still dealing with massive disparities—and the numbers prove it.
According to new data from Tracxn, women-led tech companies globally raised $29.6 billion in 2024—an 11% drop from the previous year. That figure represents just 11.7% of all global tech funding.
Zooming in on fintech, female-led companies secured $3.4 billion, underscoring just how limited the slice remains.
Data from Anthemis Group reveals that only 3.4% of fintech venture capital dollars in 2023 went to companies founded solely by women—a stark reminder of the ongoing funding gap.
But here’s the thing: even with those odds, women in fintech are making major moves.
We’re still building companies. We’re still raising rounds. And, yes, we’re still creating exits and unicorns that VCs can’t ignore.
Why Fintech?
Fintech is where many of us have found our power—not because it’s trendy, but because it’s necessary.
Financial technology is about access. It’s about reshaping outdated systems that were never built for us to thrive in.
And it’s why women, especially those with lived experience of exclusion, are uniquely positioned to build in this space.
We’ve been on the outside. So now, we’re designing better systems that work from the inside out.
That lived experience shows up in the numbers:
According to BCG, women founders deliver more than 2x revenue per dollar invested than men.
McKinsey reports a 30% increase in returns on invested capital for diverse founding teams.
The World Economic Forum found that companies with above-average diversity generate 45% of their revenue from innovation, compared to just 26% for companies with below-average diversity.
So yes, we may get fewer dollars—but we do a lot more with them.
Zooming in on 2024
Let’s break this down:
✅ Early-stage funding is up by 10%, which signals that investors are still willing to bet on women—just earlier, when the check sizes are smaller.
❌ Late-stage funding dropped by 21%, meaning many women founders are still being left behind when it’s time to scale.
❌ Seed-stage funding fell 19%, adding to the already high barrier to entry.
And yet…
💥 14 women-led unicorns emerged in 2024—a 134% increase from last year.
💥 Exit activity rose by 10%, including billion-dollar exits like UK-based Darktrace (co-founded by CEO Poppy Gustafsson) and China’s Biotheus (co-founded by Joanne Sun).
Translation? Women in fintech are not only building strong businesses—we’re building investable businesses.
Let’s talk about New York
NYC ranked second globally for women-led tech funding in 2024, raising $1.9 billion—just behind San Francisco and ahead of London.
And honestly, it makes sense.
New York is a unique mashup of institutional power and startup grit. It’s also one of the most diverse entrepreneurial ecosystems in the world. That combination makes it a prime playground for women in fintech to thrive.
Which brings me to this: Next month, over 6,000 people will come together for New York Fintech Week—and you need to be there.
We’re kicking off the biggest day of the week with the Fintech Is Femme Leadership Summit on April 23 at The Times Center.
500+ women in fintech, all coming together to strategize, connect, and make their next bold move.
It’s not fluff. It’s a room where funding gets raised, clients get signed, and power moves get made.
The Real Benchmark for Equity
Let’s not get distracted by surface-level progress.
Here’s the truth: while ~20% of VC dollars go to companies with at least one woman co-founder, that doesn’t mean women are anywhere close to equity.
As Anthemis pointed out in a report: if VCs want true gender parity, then 70% of their portfolio companies should have at least one woman on the founding team.
Because a portfolio where half of the companies are “diverse” by founder gender doesn’t actually reflect a 50/50 split in power or ownership.
Final Thoughts
We still have work to do.
But the women I cover—interview, spotlight, and build community with every single day—are out here proving that we are the future of fintech.
We’re raising. We’re scaling. We’re showing up.
And when women lead fintech companies, we hire more women.
We design for inclusion.
We build for legacy.
So whether you’re raising your first check or eyeing your next exit, know this:
You belong here.
And this next wave of fintech? It looks a lot like us.
And don’t forget—join us at the Leadership Summit on April 23. Because there’s nothing more powerful than women in fintech in the room where it happens.
Let’s build.
WTF ELSE?
FINTECH IS FEMME LEADERSHIP SUMMIT
FINTECH SECURITY SUMMIT
🚨 Fraudsters are working faster—and smarter. It’s time we do the same. 🚨
If the last year taught us anything, it’s that security can’t be an afterthought. It’s the foundation. The differentiator. The trust builder.
We’re bringing together the brightest minds in fintech, risk, fraud, and identity for a high-impact day of strategy, innovation, and real talk.
Expect actionable insights, serious networking, and the community momentum to stay ahead of evolving threats—without compromising user experience.
💥 Space is limited and tickets are moving—secure yours today.
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I WANT IT, I GOT IT
📰 Today’s Read: Founder of Parity, Kesi Johnson, introduced Likeable Badass by Alison Fragale to my attention through her LinkedIn Live series, "No-Commitment Book Club." Check out the replay here!
🌍 Today’s Watch: Ellen Pompeo: Pick Me, Choose Me, Pay Me More is the latest episode of Call Her Daddy that is going viral, and after listening to this episode, I see why.
🎤 Today’s Listen: Episode 3 of Fintech Mavericks just dropped — and it’s one you don’t want to miss. My co-host Drew Glover and I sat down with Stephany Kirkpatrick, Founder & CEO of Orum, for a conversation that’s basically a masterclass in building (and scaling) in the complex, technical world of fintech. From raising $80M+ as a solo founder to redefining how money moves, Stephany breaks it all down. You can listen to it on Spotify here or Apple here. You’ll walk away smarter, I promise.
FINTUNES
The new songs on Ari's album Eternal Sunshine Deluxe: Brighter Days Ahead have been on repeat all week. She really knows how to stay in my AirPods!
LET’S CONNECT
📰 Share this newsletter with a friend and start growing your network.
🔗 Connect with me on LinkedIn for daily insights on female leadership.
🤝 Grow your business through content & community by partnering with me.
📣 Promote yourself to 50,000 subscribers by sponsoring this newsletter.
🎤 Host an epic event by booking me as a speaker, moderator, or emcee.
📚 Increase your expertise by ordering your copy of my book, Fintech Feminists: Increasing Inclusion, Redefining Innovation, and Changing the Future for Women Around the World.
That’s all for now! See you Thursday!
Love,
Nicole 💜