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Hi, fintech fam 💜

It’s been one of those weeks—recovering from being sick all weekend, still a little foggy, but fired up by what’s ahead.

Next week I’m heading to San Francisco for The Fintech Summit, hosted by my friend (and podcast co-host!) Drew Glover and the team at Fiat Growth. I’ll be moderating a panel on one of the most real convos in the space—B2B vs. B2C in fintech—and what the trade-offs actually look like.

We’re also kicking off Season 2 of Fintech Mavericks with a live recording in SF. This season’s lineup?

🔥 12 new episodes featuring some of the brightest minds in the game. Our guests collectively have over half a million LinkedIn followers—and they’re showing up with real blueprints, not recycled talking points.

While I’m in town, I’ll be doing recon for our Fintech Is Femme Leadership Summit: SF Edition, coming this October during Tech Week. Want in? My inbox is open.

And lastly—there’s a project I’ve been working on that I can’t stop thinking about.

Because it’s a chance to build together.

Let’s get into today’s column.

INNOVATION

A $12 Billion Market Opportunity You’re (Probably) Overlooking

At Fintech Is Femme, we follow the money—and right now, it’s pointing to a $12 billion opportunity hiding in plain sight.

That’s the untapped ROI waiting in climate tech funding. Not speculation. Not theory. Just a more innovative way to invest.

But let’s be clear: this isn’t about ethics. It’s about economics.

If you want to scale a business, tap new markets, and invest in the future, then building for a livable planet isn’t a side mission—it’s the whole playbook.

Welcome to the rise of climate fintech.

Climate Change Is a Financial Problem

We’ve been told climate tech lives in a separate category. But if capital is flowing, if risk is shifting, if wealth is being built—that’s fintech. Full stop.

For example, the wildfires that happened in California in January didn’t start because of DEI. 

They started because of a failure to build systems that accounted for risk. Los Angeles was constructed on unstable terrain nearly a century ago—not because of inclusivity, but because of short-sighted economic decisions.

Another example is the collapse of Texas’s energy grid in 2021, one of the most severe energy crises in U.S. history, which didn’t happen because of DEI.

It happened because of decades of deregulation and underinvestment in infrastructure— economic decisions made without long-term risk in mind. 

When climate meets outdated systems, disaster follows. And fintech, done right, can change that trajectory.

Climate change is a system-wide risk. Fintech is a system-wide solution.

Women: Not Just the Most Affected—The Most Effective

Women are 14 times more likely to die in climate disasters. Climate change jeopardizes access to health care, economic stability, and safety.

And yet, women are also statistically the most effective agents of change in this space.

A 1% increase in women managers correlates with a 0.5% drop in emissions, according to the World Economic Forum. Companies with over 30% women on boards outperform in climate governance, innovation, and sustainability.

And in climate fintech? We’re leading.

According to Tenity, 45% of climate fintech startups founded in 2023 had a woman co-founder. 

Over half of all pre-Series B funding between 2022 and 2023 went to startups with at least one woman founder. 

The $12 Billion Opportunity

Yet even now, women-led teams receive just 1.1% of total climate tech funding. All-male teams still rake in over 90% of capital.

According to RMI’s Third Derivative, correcting this imbalance could generate $12 billion in additional returns. Not charity—ROI.

Why? Because women founders deliver stronger capital efficiency, faster exits, and higher returns. A BCG study showed mixed-gender teams return $0.78 for every dollar raised, compared to $0.31 for male-only teams.

So the question isn’t "Why fund women in climate fintech?"

The question is: "Why wouldn’t you?"

What Climate Fintech Does

Climate fintech isn’t a buzzword—it’s a toolkit. And it’s already solving real, measurable problems:

• Carbon tracking embedded in transactions

• Green investing platforms are democratizing sustainable finance

• ESG compliance tools for enterprises

• New rails for clean energy financing and carbon markets

Europe leads, with 70% of regulatory reporting solutions. But the opportunity is global. Climate fintech funding in Europe fell only 2.2% last year, while global VC dropped 38%.

This is a resilient sector. And it’s ripe for women to lead.

From Insight to Action

When I first connected with Bhuva Shakti—a legendary Wall Street executive, epic TED Talk speaker, and now founder of Wallet Max—I knew we had to build something together. 

After three decades of steering major financial institutions through crisis after crisis, she was ready for more than just conversations about climate risk. She wanted to take action—and put capital to work for our communities.

So we teamed up to launch the Emerald Climate Fintech Summit. 

It's our answer to the question: How do we channel capital into real solutions, and help ourselves and our communities make more money in the process?

Bhuva doesn’t mince words: 

“I’ve spent my life building systems that manage risk. Climate is the greatest risk—and opportunity—of our time. We need capital to flow where it matters, and that means building pipelines that include everyone.”

That kind of perspective is rare. But it's exactly what this moment demands.

And women in fintech? We’re bringing that perspective to life—in code, in capital, and in community.

And now we’re building something big.

On September 19 in NYC, we’re launching the Emerald Climate Fintech Summit.

It’s where climate meets capital, where community meets action. 

Imagine a future where clean energy is funded with a click, where carbon markets scale like SaaS, and where sustainability is woven into every transaction.

That future isn’t theoretical. It’s being built—by people who look like us.

Join us. Partner with us. Fund what’s next.

Because when you direct capital toward climate solutions, you’re scaling the most brilliant business move of the decade.

Want in? Respond to this email and let’s talk about how to get you and your business involved with the Emerald Climate Fintech Summit. 

We’re looking for stellar partners to help shape the content, agenda, and vibe. 

See you in September.

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_{WTF ELSE?}

• How SPVs are reshaping the future of venture capital 

• Walmart is using its own fintech firm to provide credit cards after dumping Capital One

• Atome secures $75M financing to drive financial inclusion mission in the Philippines

• Creator content set to overtake professionally produced content in ad revenue, says report

_{I WANT IT, I GOT IT}

• 🎧 Today’s Listen: Today’s throwback episode of Fintech Mavericks features Sophia Goldberg on building Ansa, scaling smart, and raising $20M—with 95% of her investors being women. A must-listen for anyone navigating early-stage growth with intention. Tune in to our podcast here.

• 🚀 Today’s Read: Adding this throwback to your content lineup because, honestly, I’ve been searching for the words to make sense of what’s happening in our country—and in California right now. I remembered this column I wrote: “Immigrants Are America’s Secret Sauce: How Fintech Can Help Us Tap Into This Economic Power.” It still holds. Read it, share it, and keep the data close—because the truth needs backing.

• 🧘‍♀️Today’s Self-Care: I’m a clean makeup girlie through and through—and I’ve been using Typology’s tinted serum for a while now. But recently added their new illuminating concentrate drops to my routine, and I’m officially obsessed. The hydration? Unreal. The glow? Next level. I love when makeup actually does something for your skin—this one’s packed with vitamin C, aloe, and skincare that works while you wear it.

_FINTUNES

🎵 Sabrina Carpenter - Manchild

Providing a fun, silly, and relatable song for the summer.

_{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 💜