Ansa is a San Francisco fintech that builds API-first, white-labeled stored-value wallet infrastructure for merchants. It lets brands launch their own branded digital wallet - the Starbucks-app model - where customers pre-load funds and pay in-app, online, or in-store. By batching many small purchases into one funded balance, Ansa cuts card processing fees on low-ticket transactions while adding incentives, loyalty, and analytics on top. Founded in 2022 by Adyen and Affirm alumni Sophia Goldberg and JT Cho, Ansa raised a $14M Series A in April 2024 (about 95% of it from female investors), bringing total funding to roughly $19.4M.
Lesley Silverthorn Marincola is the founder and CEO of Angaza, a San Francisco-based B2B software company that powers pay-as-you-go financing for solar home systems and other off-grid products across emerging markets. A Stanford-trained product designer and mechanical engineer, she launched Angaza in 2010 after a course called 'Designing for Extreme Poverty' lit a fire she hasn't put out since. Today, Angaza's platform reaches over 5 million people across 50 countries, enabling low-income households to pay for life-changing energy products through weekly micropayments via mobile money — replacing kerosene lamps one $1 payment at a time. Her work earned Angaza the 2018 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship and a TED stage appearance. She is a Forbes '30 Under 30' alum, Echoing Green Fellow, and World Economic Forum Young Global Shaper.