Celebrating the trailblazing women-led startups from this year’s WMNfintech cohort

On September 26, BMO and 1871 gathered with community members, industry experts and startup ecosystem leaders at the fifth annual WMNfintech Showcase to celebrate the five trailblazing women-led startups that graduated from this year’s WMNfintech program. 

WMNfintech is North America’s largest non-profit fintech industry program for women-founded and women-led startups. Over the past three months, five women startup founders immersed themselves in rigorous programming designed to empower them with the resources, and tailored programming needed to create and scale their services and solutions. As part of World Business Chicago’s Future of Fintech week, the WMNfintech Showcase gave the founders the opportunity to share their business solutions and services with stakeholders, banking partners, regulators and trade groups for feedback and support as they look to enter the next phase of their growth. 

“Completing the WMNfintech program is a testament to the resilience and ingenuity of these entrepreneurs. Each founder contributes to meaningful change within financial services, and we’re proud to support and guide them as they continue to scale their businesses. BMO remains committed to making space for the most powerful ecosystem for women-founders by eliminating barriers to inclusion and empowering the next generation of innovators.” 

– Andrew Harrison
Head of U.S. Digital Partners at BMO

This year’s founders are some of the best and brightest in early stage fintech startups. Their disruptive fintech solutions exhibit exceptional promise in their future development and amplification in the financial sector, addressing pain points, optimizing experiences and removing business barriers in Chicago and around the world. As they continue their growth journeys, they will join the WMNfintech alumni network, where they’ll have the opportunity to connect with fellow women startup founders and benefit from the full support of BMO and 1871. 

“I am grateful for our ability to participate in the WMNfintech program with 1871 and BMO. There are three key areas that the program really helped us expand and grow. First and foremost, meeting the other founders in the cohort was phenomenal; to be able to talk to and learn from other people navigating similar challenges at similar stage companies has been invaluable. Second, the resources of the BMO community, our mentors, have been phenomenal throughout the program in coaching us toward how we actually sell to financial institutions. And third, is the connection to 1871 and the network of investors and speakers that they brought in to teach us about how to make the most of our resources and opportunities.”

– Amy Chou
Chief Product Officer at Addition Wealth, 2024 WMNfintech Alumni 

WMNfintech has provided more than 30 women-founded, women-led startups with access to mentorship, resources, and programming that has helped them raise over $45M in capital and create 200+ jobs in their communities. From AI-powered sign language recognition software to cloud-based financial health solutions, WMNfintech founders and startups continue to demonstrate how women are transforming the financial services industry and pioneering a more innovative, inclusive future.  

“[WMNfintech] is a lifeline for founders that are looking for opportunities, access, pathways, networks and all these things opened up as a result. Meeting founders from previous cohorts was really special, and I’ve built relationships with those founders. Where they were two to three years ago to where they are now is inspiring.”

– Claudette McGowan
CEO of Protexxa, 2024 WMNfintech Alumni 

Since 2020, BMO has expanded its national fintech network, developed proofs of concept, partnerships, and investments in both the fintech space and previous WMNfintech participants by: 

• Working with or investing in an additional four WMNfintech alumni organizations: SpringFour, Plinqit, ArenaPay, and Sign-Speak. 

• Hosting the “Women in Fintech Lounge” at the annual Fintech Meetup in Las Vegas – one of the largest financial technology events in the world happening this week. 

• Supporting the launch of the largest women fintech social organization in the Chicago area, NYC Fintech Women – Chicago Chapter. 

• Investing in the largest early-stage fintech fund dedicated to women-founded companies. 

BMO celebrates the successes of our WMNfintech alumni, including recently acquired SpringFour, a long-time WMNfintech partner and program mentor. The acquisition increases impact and access to personalized financial wellness resources that enable them to make Real Financial Progress.  

Congratulations to this year’s founders and startups, and welcome to the WMNfintech alumni network. 

For more information on WMNfintech, visit the 1871 website.