New fintech platform Txeya creates equality for businesses founded by diverse entrepreneurs
Txeya has launched today to create greater equality in entrepreneurship by making it easier for female, black, minority ethnic and LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs to fund and grow their businesses.
Leveraging the power of smart banking, Txeya gives diverse businesses access to financial products that will support them along their entire start-up journey, beginning with one of the biggest pain points for underrepresented entrepreneurs — access to funding.
The female demographic is one example. While women make up around 50% of the global population, female-only founded businesses receive less than 6% of all venture capital funding. Txeya addresses this and other disparities by offering a range of financial empowerment tools, including a banking account built for entrepreneurs, access to credit, and a gateway to institutional investors who are actively looking for diversity-founded businesses.
Ann-Kathrin Grebner, co-founder and CEO of Berlin-based health and wellbeing start-up My Inner Health Club, says: “We’re excited to have access to both credit and equity investment through Txeya. Its founders understand the current barriers entrepreneurs are facing around access to funding and how difficult the process can be. By combining business banking and funding, Txeya solves two problems that every start-up has and helps us focus on making our business a success.”
For investors, Txeya provides quality deal flow for socially conscious investors and a seamless experience by opening the door to new opportunities with entrepreneurs from underrepresented and yet untapped communities.
Heather Henyon, founding partner of venture firm Mindshift Capital, comments: “Financial returns are clearly high up on the agenda when any investor looks for new companies and people to invest in, but it’s also important to add amazing businesses founded by diverse entrepreneurs to any investment portfolio.
“With Txeya, investors are guaranteed both diverse business founders and excellent returns in one package. We are excited to see that Txeya is opening doors to and for underrepresented founders to improve their access to funding, and it’s encouraging to see diversity becoming more central in conversations about investment.”
Txeya is the brainchild of founder Paula Pandolfino, who has more than 20 years’ experience in banking and as an entrepreneur, and a passion to change the status quo in business.
Together with a world-class team of experienced co-founders who share her vision of injecting equality into the funding model, Paula is determined to ensure Txeya provides financial empowerment and access to investment for a new generation of diversity-led entrepreneurs.
Paula says: “The lack of funding in female, black, minority ethnic and LGBTQ+ businesses is unacceptable and urgently needs to be addressed.
“At Txeya, we are championing the cause for equality from both sides. We are giving entrepreneurs access to a platform specifically designed around their needs and pain points, while showing investors a clear path to connecting with exceptional entrepreneurs and business ideas that will convert their investment into high-value returns.”
