Just as important as honoring the past is celebrating the milestones being made now and in the future. In honor of Women’s History Month, we wanted to highlight several organizations led by eight women who are creating new opportunities and access with technology:

Topknot

Topknot is an application and online personal development platform providing intentional support to women on the journey to reaching their individual and collective potential. Founding engineer Daphne Larose and co-founders Claire Shorall and Brooke Osborne are intentionally designing their solution to meet the needs of women who have historically had the least opportunity and access. 

Hack the Gap

Led by serial entrepreneur Caroline Karanja, Hack the Gap is a fellow Twin Cities-based company using hackathons to innovate, collaborate, and bridge opportunities for technologists who identify as women, LGBTQ+, Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC). Branch is proud to be a sustaining supporter of their all women and nonbinary Hackathon coming up March 23rd - 27th and Addressing Maternal Mortality Hackathon in the black community in April. 

Divvy Homes

Co-founder and CEO Adena Hefets founded Divvy Homes to increase access and opportunities to home ownership. She and her team bring together industry experts, seasoned business people, and technologists to break through traditional barriers and give everyone a shot at owning their own home. 

Black Girls Code

Founder Kimberly Bryant started Black Girls Code to provide young and pre-teen girls of color opportunities to learn in-demand skills in technology and computer programming at a time when they are naturally thinking about what they want to be when they grow up. The organization aims to increase the number of women of color in the digital space by empowering girls of color ages 7 to 17 to become innovators in STEM fields, leaders in their communities, and builders of their own futures.

Nova Credit

Nicky Goulimis, COO & Co-Founder of Nova Credit, founded the cross-border credit reporting agency to help immigrants gain easier access to credit in the US. By working to create a global platform for financial identity, Nova helps immigrants more easily build credit profiles so that they don’t have to start from scratch when they move to a new country.

Branch

And last but not least is our one of the leaders at Branch, our general counsel Smitha Mortis. She brings over a decade of experience in the payments space, navigating rapid growth within the evolving regulatory landscape. As General Counsel, she not only leads Branch's legal, regulatory, and compliance strategies, but is also part of the leadership team that ensures equitable, transparent financial services to working Americans. 

And these are just to name a few! There are SO many amazing leaders and organizations out there creating more access and opportunities with technology. We look forward to celebrating the many more to come.