Why the Female Founders Fund is Focusing on Fintech
*By Conor White*
With $27 million in new seed money, the Female Founders Fund announced it plans to invest with women who are developing financial technology that will keep pace with new trends in online banking.
"The way millennials are considering their relationship with traditional banks is fundamentally changing," said Anu Duggal, a founding partner of the Female Founders Fund. "I think they want a different experience, they want transparency, they expect the same kind of technological experience that they're getting from all of the other consumer-facing apps or businesses that they interact with."
The fund's new initiative is backed by some of the most influential women in the world, including Melinda Gates, the Rent The Runway co-founder Jenny Fleiss, and the founder and CEO of Stitch Fix, Katrina Lake.
Female Founders Fund invests exclusively in companies founded by women, something Duggal said is more important than ever.
"When you look at the current landscape, whether it's the Amazons, Googles, Facebooks, Yahoos of the world, you have this group of women who've helped these companies scale and understand the skill set that is required to build a business from the ground up," said Duggal. "And so I think that we're at a really pivotal time in terms of, these women are ready, there's an opportunity from a consumer standpoint, and they're really taking advantage of it."
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/female-founders-fund-celebrates-27-million-seed-fund).
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