Center for Accelerating Financial Equity (CAFE)

Day 2 of NYC Fintech Week and the energy didn’t slow down - it leveled up. We spent the day at the Fintech Is Femme Leadership Summit - where leaders are actively shaping what comes next in fintech. Hosted by Nicole Casperson and part of the broader #NewYorkFintechWeek, the room was filled with founders, operators, investors, and execs building the future of the financial system. Big themes that stood out: → Leadership is evolving: closer to product, closer to customers, closer to impact → The most powerful rooms are intentional (this one delivered) → Representation isn’t a side conversation: it’s driving strategy and outcomes CAFE was part of the Fintech Showcase presented by our partner RevTech Labs Foundation and joined with InsurTech NY ICBA and Tampa Bay Wave , where founders presented their solutions changing the banking landscape and improving people's lives Srivalsan Ponnachath iTuring.ai, Danny Friday Sail, Sonali Kumar & Ashish Agrawal Zolidar, Derrick Walton & Kathryn Outlaw Spheros, Martha Underwood Prismm, Clint Lotz TrackStar AI Inc., Nick Ashburn Calibrate, Jennifer L. Valusync Great to spend time with industry friends Rochelle Nawrocki Gorey SpringFour, Arden Elizabeth Evenson Sabrina DeVito Ariel Serber Lucas Timberlake Fintech Sandbox Kristina Arañas Morris Amelia Wainscott Nirbhay Kumar Kasie Jackson Dan Roselli Sara Garces Roselli Max Haskin Ankit Singh Because fintech isn’t just being built… it’s being led with purpose! #NYCFintechWeek #FintechLeadership #FintechIsFemme #Community #Innovation #Investors #Startups #Fintech #CAFE #ProfitAndPurpose

Thanks to the American Fintech Council for their support of the Delaware banking modernization legislation that we have been working with the government and financial institutions on over the past years! We are very excited for the new banking and stablecoin policies that we believe will help accelerate financial innovation in the first state. The AFC Summit last November helped us showcase how the government, business, nonprofits and associations work together to build momentum to lead to this milestone!

Day 1 at #NYFintech Week. We showed up this week - and so did the future of fintech. Our CAFE Spring Fintech Accelerator cohort was in the big city for Fiat Growth conference, where the message was clear: fintech isn’t a feature, it is the operating system for financial services. Big takeaway from the Fiat Growth stage (shoutout to CEO Drew Glover): the real moats today are distribution. data. speed. team. We see it every day, as our founders aren’t just building products, they’re building infrastructure that expands access, improves financial health, and meets people where they are. We also had the opportunity to visit Nasdaq a powerful reminder of how innovation, markets, and mission can intersect at scale. Thanks to Max Cabasso Momentum is real. The ecosystem is leaning in. And our founders are right in the middle of it. Srivalsan Ponnachath iTuring.ai, Danny Friday Sail, Sonali Kothari & Ashish Agrawal Zolidar, Derrick Walton & Kathryn Outlaw Spheros, Martha Underwood Prismm, Feli Oikonomopoulou WealthMeUp, Clint Lotz TrackStar AI Inc., Nick Ashburn Calibrate, Nancy Yaffa, CTP & John Taylor Garner Odynn, Jennifer L. Valusync. If you’re a bank, investor, or partner thinking about what’s next - now’s the time to engage. Great to spend time with industry partners and friends Mirit Lugassi Cristina Hall, MBEC, CAMS, CAFCA  Sabrina DeVito Carina Oriel Ariel Serber Ashlyn Lackey Annie Khuu Thanks to Nicole Casperson Fintech Is Femme and RevTech Labs Foundation Sara Garces Roselli for the opportunity! #Fintech #NYCFintechWeek #FinancialInnovation #StartupEcosystem #CAFE #ProfitAndPurpose Kristen Castell Ryan Venderlic

Last week, CAFE hosted a Mentor Match Making session for our Cohort 5 founders bringing together 8 fintech startups and a group of incredible mentors for a series of fast paced, high impact conversations. Across rotating breakout rooms, a few clear themes emerged: navigating enterprise sales cycles in banking, identifying the right decision makers, and approaching early stage fundraising before hitting major revenue milestones. The consistency of these conversations reinforced just how valuable it is to learn directly from operators and industry leaders who have been there before. A huge thank you to our mentors for sharing their time and candid insights from go-to-market strategy and product positioning to fundraising and scaling within financial services. Your guidance is helping shape the next generation of fintech innovation. Jessica Chen Mark J. Ferguson Olyvia Dean Payal Rohira Sandeep Mangaraj Shefali Shah Viviane Tschanz Wagner V. We’re especially excited about what’s ahead building on this momentum with more opportunities for shared learning, including deeper dives into enterprise sales and founder support across the cohort. And to our founders: the collaboration, openness, and execution focus you continue to show is what makes this ecosystem so strong. #Fintech #Startups #Mentorship #Innovation #CAFE

Delaware continues to strengthen its position as a leader in financial services and innovation. With the Senate’s passage of banking modernization legislation, led by Senator Spiros Mantzavinos in collaboration with partners like the Delaware Bankers Association our state is taking an important step toward supporting the evolving needs of banks, fintech companies, and the broader financial ecosystem. These updates help create a more responsive, forward-looking regulatory environment, one that encourages responsible innovation while maintaining Delaware’s leadership in financial services. At CAFE, we’re excited about the momentum this creates. We’ve worked alongside government and ecosystem partners to support innovation, connect founders and institutions, and help advance Delaware’s growing fintech community. We look forward to continuing this work and building on the collaboration between industry, academia, and policymakers to drive meaningful economic impact across the state. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eKtxNE8t #Delaware #Fintech #Innovation #EconomicDevelopment #Banking #CAFE

Today, we had the opportunity to bring together our CAFE accelerator founders with the team at BankTech Ventures and the conversation did not disappoint. A huge thank you to Brandon Oliver and Katie Quilligan for spending time with our cohort, sharing insights, and engaging deeply with each founder’s vision. As a strategic fund backed by 125 community banks, their perspective on what banks actually need right now is invaluable. What stood out most? A clear shift in how fintechs are thinking about the role of financial institutions: ➡️ Moving beyond transactions to becoming true life partners for customers. ➡️ Solving real operational pain points from collections and AI scalability to frontline efficiency. ➡️ Creating deeper, more meaningful engagement across key life moments like homeownership, small business succession, and legacy planning. Across the board, one theme was consistent: fintech partnerships are critical to helping banks evolve, compete, and better serve their communities. We’re excited about what’s ahead and grateful to BTV for being a thoughtful, engaged partner in this journey. #Fintech #BankingInnovation #CommunityBanks #CAFE #Partnerships

Grateful for an insightful session with Julie Esser, Founder & CEO of IgniteFI, as part of the CAFE Accelerator 🚀 Julie brought 40+ years of credit union expertise and shared invaluable guidance with our founders on navigating and selling into the credit union ecosystem. A few key takeaways: • Credit unions are mission-driven, member-owned institutions understanding their culture and language is critical. • Relationship-building matters more than traditional sales tactics in this space. • Fintech partnerships are essential, but trust and long-term alignment come first. • Patience is key sales cycles can take 6–12+ months. • There’s major opportunity in areas like member growth, compliance, and digital transformation. We also dove into topics like CUSOs, go-to-market strategies, and common pitfalls fintechs should avoid when engaging with credit unions. Huge thank you to Julie for sharing her time, experience, and practical insights with our cohort! #Fintech #CreditUnions #StartupAccelerator #CAFE #IgniteFI #Innovation #Partnerships