Fintech companies owned by black women poised to close the gender and racial wealth gap

Conversations around fintech diversity usually focus on gender, which is important. But that kind of diversity of centers usually “white women.”

This can leave minorities out of the companies’ target consumer demographics, which is of particular concern since financial services can often result in black people being excluded from access to fair lending practices and culturally competent products. Not surprisingly, this can end up promoting systemic inequalities.

Forbes pointed out that Georgetown law professor Chris Brummer cited one Harvard Business Review article that reported that fewer than 2% of technical managers and only 5.3% of technical professionals are black.

He added that “With fintech accounting for perhaps 10 to 15 percent of tech employment overall, the total number of full-time, African-American fintech leaders and professionals could be in the hundreds, not thousands.”

Black households continue to struggle with the disproportionate economic blow caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which highlights historic racial economic health gaps in the United States. But fair-minded fintech companies have the ability to fill them, and these Black-women-owned firms are on a mission to do just that. Check them out.

01

Kelly Ifill – Guava

Guava was founded in 2021 by Kelly Ifill after fighting to reduce racial wealth by providing financial services to black small businesses and creators. The digital banking platform will officially launch early next year and will help entrepreneurs manage expenses and connect with other entrepreneurs looking to grow their businesses.

02

Sheena Allen – Capway

Sheena Allen founded the digital banking app Capway after experiencing the effects of being underbanked while growing up in the rural South. To date, the platform has helped hundreds of thousands of customers get banked and access financial literacy tools.

03

Natasha Bansgopaul – Darcmatter

Bansgopaul is the co-founder of the fintech platform DarcMatter, which streamlines the fundraising process for entrepreneurs and fund managers.

04

Gloria Kimwala

As the founder of Bisalu, Kimbwala is dedicated to supporting corporate brands to become more inclusive and is also a technical advisor on the boards of the Society of Women Coders (SOWCoders) and the Black Women Blockchain Council.

05

Dr. Roshawnna Novellus- EnrichHER

Dr. Roshawnna Novellus is the founder and CEO of EnrichHER, a lending platform aimed at helping retail and institutional financiers allocate capital to BIPOC and women-owned businesses.