On May 12-13 we are hosting the 8th version of the EU-Startups Summit in beautiful Barcelona! Our flagship in-person event will bring you the chance to connect and network with Europe’s most influential and successful investors, founders and entrepreneurs, as well as get the most knowledgeable and inspiring insights into the European startup ecosystem as a whole. At the event, we will be hosting talks, fireside chats, panel discussions, and our always-exciting startup pitch competition!
This year, one of our panel discussions will take a look at the Current State of Fintech – and the panel is entirely female-led!
Featuring Miriam Wohlfarth (Founder of Ratepay and Founder and Co-CEO of Banxware), Kristina Walcker-Mayer (CEO and CPO of Nuri (Bitwala)), Lupina Iturriaga (Founder and CEO of Fintonic), and Albertine Lecointe (VP Strategy of Qonto), this fintech discussion is certainly one of the standout events at the Summit. Here, we would like to individually introduce each of these inspiring women.
Miriam is a serial founder and founded one of the first fintech companies in Germany – payment service provider Ratepay. With her latest company Banxware (founded 2020), she revolutionizes the European lending sector and enables platforms to offer banking products. As a passionate founder, Miriam is committed to the startup ecosystem, cooperation between business and politics, and digital education through various advisory boards and initiatives.
Lending-as-a-Service provider Banxware enables digital platforms such as marketplaces to offer embedded financing in real-time to its business customers. It started 2022 with a €10 million funding round and is growing fast. Miriam has been a pioneer in the fintech space when the industry was still in its infancy, launching Ratepay with its innovative payment solution back in 2009. The company has raised over €83 million and now counts over 250 employees.
Kristina has over 10 years of digital experience and is now the CEO and former CPO of Nuri, formerly called Bitwala. Before starting her roles at Nuri, she worked at German unicorns N26 and Zalando during their hyper-growth stages, where she led product teams for customer-facing mainstream products. Kristina has extensive career experience and knowledge in building up mobile strategies and creating innovative mobile solutions for major clients in the retail, television, NGO and automotive industries.
Nuri, founded in 2015, believes in a world in which everyone is empowered to build their financial future. As a bank account to grow people’s wealth, Nuri offers a fully-featured German bank account, easy access to cryptocurrencies and investment opportunities. The company now has over 250 employees and in 2021 picked up over €9.4 million, taking its total funding to over €42 million.
Lupina began her professional career working in international banking, first in New York before returning to the city of Madrid. She very quickly became a young expert in the financial world and advocates bringing people who are passionate and visionary into creating great teams.
Lupina founded Fintonic in 2012, and within one year the startup had 70k users and 36k downloads for its solution that is helping users across the world manage their finances better. The Fintonic app organises all your bank accounts, insurances and credit cards into one place – enabling you to keep a close eye on how you’re spending and helping you save for those all-important treats. In 2019, the company raised €19 million, earning a valuation of €160 million. It now has 700k active users.
Albertine is the VP of strategy at Qonto and is passionate about financial technologies and disruptive innovations in the banking and payment sectors. She has had experience with Marketing Research in Asset Management (Hong Kong), Impact Investing in Social Ventures (Paris), as Product Strategy Manager in a Fintech start-up (London), as well as being a Financial Services Consultant at Exton (Paris), before joining Qonto. Her career trajectory is certainly impressive and she will be bringing us valuable insights into disrupting the fintech sphere.
Launched in 2017, Qonto is a French fintech company simplifying everyday financing and banking as well as bookkeeping and spend management for businesses. Qonto’s mission is to energize SMEs and freelancers so they can achieve more. So far, over 220k companies use Qonto to fuel their business, and the firm has raised €622 million with a team of over 500 employees.
This group of inspiring female entrepreneurs will join us in Barcelona to discuss how fintech is disrupting the traditional payment and banking services industries. They will give us invaluable insights and food for thought about how women are increasingly playing leadership roles in the fintech space, and how we can keep up this disruptive momentum in what is a traditionally male-dominated sector.
The EU-Startups Summit is coming up quick, so make sure you secure your ticket now so you can guarantee your space at unmissable events like this fintech panel discussion. You can also check out more information about the Summit on our dedicated event page.
Some insights from our previous in-person event:
Our Event Sponsors
Silicon Castles is a Tech Company Builder and Strategic Business Accelerator for technology, intellectual property and licensing businesses, located in Salzburg, Austria. The focus is on European Diamonds: technology startups with a unique business idea, scalable technology and outstanding intellectual property. Silicon Castles also organizes the Startup Executive Academy (SEA), an international Go-to-Market program for founders and executives of early-stage startups, taking place annually since 2017.
Unleashed, by the Purina Accelerator Lab, is the first and only accelerator programme in Europe dedicated exclusively to pet-tech. Their goal is to shape the future of pet care by supporting disruptive pet startups with technologies in advanced nutrition, sustainability, health and digital solutions that enrich the lives of pets and the people who love them. Over the last 2 years, Unleashed had accelerated 12 pet startups, facilitated >350 founders in the Unleashed community and welcomed over 1000 subscribers to the Unleashed pet tech newsletter.
Webex offers industry-leading solutions in video conferencing, team collaboration, calling, contact centre and devices, and is trusted by 95% of the Fortune 500. With Webex, businesses can simplify communication, inspire innovation, and empower people to engage with each other anywhere on any device – giving businesses the ultimate edge. Because, when businesses enable employees to bring their best selves to work, everyone wins.
AC
CIÓ – Catalonia Trade & Investment is the Catalan Government’s agency that works to attract foreign investment to Catalonia, promoting the region as an attractive, innovative and competitive business location for startups. Check out their offerings and the Catalonia Startup Directory.
