Las Vegas, Nev., October 23, 2022 -- Money20/20 USA, the world’s leading fintech show, announced that Zirtue won its brand new start-up pitch competition focused on doing good, “America’s Got Access”, in Las Vegas this morning.
America’s Got Access is a specialized start-up competition designed to showcase fintech companies focused on solving challenges around financial inclusion, financial health and enabling diversity, equity and inclusion within fintech.
From hundreds of applicants, the top 9 pitched to the panel of judges live on the main stage at Money20/20 in Las Vegas for a chance to win a free pass to Money20/20, a $100,000 uncapped SAFE investment, and the chance to become part of the Commerce Ventures portfolio.
Zirtue, a relationship-based lending app aiming to drive financial inclusion one relationship at a time, has been crowned the champion of America’s Got Access.
Following a surprise audience vote, a second prize of $100,000 has been won by Remynt, a start-up that empowers consumers to resolve debt while rebuilding their credit, converting charged-off debt into a new credit card and savings account, providing rewards as the debt is repaid.
Scarlett Sieber, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer of Money20/20, commented: “America’s Got Access is a unique competition that shines a light on those companies doing well by doing good. Through our partnership with Commerce Ventures, we wanted to give access to investment and mentorship to those players that otherwise would have found it difficult to turbocharge their businesses. Money20/20 has always celebrated diversity, inclusion and innovative companies that make the world around us a better place and I would like to congratulate our winners, Zirtue and Remynt, for furthering that mission.”
“Financial inclusion is widely recognized as one of the most important engines of economic development and the rise of Fintech is considered a major contributor to increased financial inclusion. As such, I’m incredibly proud to have judged the “America's Got Access” competition at Money20/20.” said Souheil Badran, EVP & COO of Northwestern Mutual.
"At Precursor, we are firm believers that fintech innovation is the key to improving the financial lives of many people who are not currently well served by our present financial system. We applaud these founders who bring their talent and passion to change the financial lives of millions of people. It was truly an honor to judge this competition, I look forward to seeing the impact that this group of talented entrepreneurs will bring to our industry,” said Charles Hudson, Managing Partner of Precursor Ventures.
Dan Rosen, Founding Partner of Commerce Ventures, said: “The promise of Fintech that I have always found most compelling is the opportunity to improve the livelihoods of so many by expanding access to financial services and solutions. It's clear that all these founders possess the passion, focus and expertise to build exciting businesses which have an enormous, positive impact, and I look forward to working with Zirtue and Remynt as they grow their companies.”
The Judges:
Special Guests Include: Sheel Mohnot, General Partner, Better Tomorrow Ventures Emmalyn Shaw, Managing Partner, Flourish Ventures Souheil Badran, EVP & COO, Northwestern Mutual Ayesha D’Souza, Head of Venture Investments & Partnerships, Fiserv
Congratulations to all other finalists who got to pitch live on the main stage at Money20/20 in Las Vegas:
This competition has been made possible in partnership with Commerce Ventures, Fiserv, Mastercard, and Northwestern Mutual.
You can find out more about America’s Got Access here https://us.money2020.com/experience/startup-americas-got-access.
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Founded in 2011, Money20/20 creates destination shows where the most innovative people in payments, fintech, and the broader financial services industry connect. Famed for their high-impact networking, the USA edition, held in Las Vegas (27-30 October 2024) and the Europe edition, held in Amsterdam (4-6 June 2024), are regarded as the place where money does business by fintech and financial services professionals. Money20/20 also recently launched an Asia edition, due to run in Bangkok on 23-25 April 2024, and Twentyfold, a digital intelligence product containing the deepest and widest repository of fintech startup data in the world. Money20/20 is the space where the industry's smartest visionaries and innovators come together to create the future of money. Money20/20 is an Ascential show.
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Contact: press@money2020.com
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