Championing inclusion is a win for innovation
As part of BMO’s commitment to fostering an inclusive society, our pursuit of Zero Barriers to Inclusion—for our customers, communities and colleagues—informs our innovation strategies. From partnering with organizations that prioritize inclusion to providing opportunities and enabling growth both inside and outside our doors, BMO actions our Purpose to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life across all areas of the bank.
Within the Technology & Operations group, we’re operationalizing inclusive innovation through several initiatives:
Obsidi helps Black tech professionals and allies take their careers to the next level by connecting a growing community of more than 60,000 members with employers of choice, like BMO. The Obsidi Academy offers bespoke training for Black-identifying Canadians, and experiences like Obsidi Tech Talks create engaging content that builds powerful networks.
BMO collaboratively supports Obsidi, its endeavors and its community. We’re the title partner for the annual Obsidi Awards, which celebrate Black excellence in technology. We’re also returning as a founding partner to the annual BFUTR Global Tech Summit – the largest gathering of Black tech professionals in the world!
The Obsidi® brand and products are owned and operated by the Black Professionals in Tech Network (BPTN).
WMNfintech is North America’s largest non-profit fintech industry program for women-founded and women-led startups. Since launching in 2020, program participants have raised more than $45 million in capital and created over 200 jobs in their respective fields. BMO has been there since the beginning – and for the fifth consecutive year, we returned alongside our partner 1871 to offer startups support through tailored mentorship, resources and programming.
BMO’s innovation sprints challenge employees to develop solutions for real-world business problems – within 30 hours. This year, cross-functional teams chose from challenges across three streams aligned to BMO’s strategic priorities: Digital First, One Client and Grow the Good. The Grow the Good challenge stream featured challenges such as “Virtual Indigenous Banking,” which focused on increasing banking accessibility for rural and northern Indigenous communities that do not have easy access to a BMO branch in Canada.
Beyond these endeavours, BMO’s values-driven focus helps us accelerate innovation across the company – while achieving our goals and supporting our communities.
