BMO Harris Bank, Chicago Hub Launch Female-Run Start-up Program

Editorial Staff

28 April 2020

BMO Harris Bank, part of North America’s BMO Financial Group, and Chicago-based tech hub 1871, have launched WMN•FINtech, a mentoring program for women-led start-ups, tackling a perceived gender gap in the tech sector.

Applications will be accepted through May 11. Eligible start-ups should have a woman founder or cofounder and be US-based. Up to five of them will be selected.

The organizations say there is a pressing need to give female entrepreneurs and technologists more openings, citing figures showing that only 20 per cent of global start-ups raising their first funding round in 2019 had a female founder .

The program is designed for start-ups that have created services or solutions for the financial sector, offer insights and advice to customers or help identify customer needs. WMN•FINtech will provide selected start-ups with a three-month mentoring program with guidance from industry experts at BMO Harris Bank; a four-month membership and working space at 1871; a curriculum focused on teaching enterprise sales cycles; vendor management; information security and risk and regulatory requirements; and the opportunity to pitch venture capital investors for feedback, mentoring, continued connections and/or funding.

Participants will be able to use 1871's new "PYROS" initiative, a 13-week series of workshops, seminars and one-to-one mentoring built for founders to help them gain and grow customers and investor traction.

The program includes a pitch day designed for start-ups to gather feedback from and network with BMO senior executives. Participants may also have a potential future opportunity to pilot their product with BMO

"Women face unique challenges when running any business, especially start-ups," Niamh Kristufek, head of US business banking for BMO Harris Bank, said.