Anabel Perez

USA and Canada

NovoPayment

I am CEO and Co-Founder of NovoPayment, an API-based Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform that provides simplified, next-level digital financial services to banks, fintechs, merchants, and other service providers. My company accelerates financial innovation globally, allowing organizations to adapt, scale and evolve by delivering digital banking, payment and card solutions in record time.

Since founding my company, I’ve expanded it to 14 countries, building a multi-Latina, multi-Americas tech organization that has reached more than 72 deployments, touching 10,000+ corporate platform users and 2.5 million end users across the Americas. In April 2022, we raised $21 million in Series A funding. On a personal level, this was a tremendous achievement as a Latina female founder with venture backing; less than 2% of venture dollars raised in 2021 went to all-female founding teams.

Before starting a life in technology, I had a full career in banking and payments including leadership roles in commercial and retail banking, product development and other financial services. I’m a member of the Forbes Finance Council and have been an Endeavor Entrepreneur since 2014 and a former member of Endeavor’s Miami board. I am the only Hispanic woman to receive the Paybefore Industry Achievement Award in recognition of my contributions to the payments space and to financial inclusion in Latin America.

While there is still a way to go to increase women’s representation in the workforce and society at-large, there has been good progress made in the last few years. More organizations are now recognizing the importance of fostering diverse, equitable and inclusive cultures than ever before. I’m so proud that NovoPayment is among the leaders in this regard, with 50% of our executive roles held by women.

In an industry that has traditionally been male dominated, we continue to foster a culture where women are empowered to grow in their careers and have an equal say as our male colleagues. One of my most important objectives as a female leader is to be approachable and offer mentorship to those in our organization and community as much as possible.

I’m aware that being a co-founder and leader of a successful organization in itself can provide inspiration for women, and I hope the younger generation in particular can see themselves in a similar position in the future. Now, more than ever before, the possibilities for women are limitless. Building strong communities where women can empower each other and grow together is crucial to ensuring a future where we can all benefit from equal opportunities, regardless of gender. While there’s always more room to grow, I’m so glad that NovoPayment is exactly that type of community for hundreds of women across the Americas.

Tech Entrepreneur