Givepact CEO Alicia Maule Conquers the Road Pitch Challenge

We are thrilled to announce that our very own CEO, Alicia Maule, was among the distinguished participants of the second edition of Road Pitch. Founded by Meagan Turner and Rohan Brown, Road Pitch is a unique and exciting event designed to provide opportunities and funding for Black founders in the fintech space.

“It meant a lot to have a startup on our tour doing innovative things in an industry that typically gets overlooked,” said Meagan.

 “We think GivePact will be a true pioneer in making donations more impactful for nonprofits around the world.”

Dubbed "Shark Tank" meets "The Amazing Race," Road Pitch is an event that challenges entrepreneurs to pitch their startups not once, not twice, but three times a day for six days straight. This year, the journey started on historic Juneteenth in Seattle, and continued down the tech-forward West Coast, passing through iconic cities like Oakland, San Francisco, Palo Alto, and Los Angeles before concluding in the booming city of Las Vegas.

That's a total of 18 pitches in a week, with each one presenting its own challenges and opportunities for growth. Despite the intense schedule and the tough competition, Alicia managed to continuously represent Givepact's mission, values, and innovative spirit with resilience, determination, and unwavering enthusiasm.

“I am immeasurably grateful to Meagan and Rohan for believing in Givepact and curating this once-in-a-life-time experience for me and my brilliant fellow founders, Camille Eddy of Bluefairy, Cornelius George of Chuqlabs, and Kabir Maiga of Passive Bolt. We look forward to continuing to build Givepact in partnership with the West Coast communities.”

Proving once again that our vision at Givepact – to revolutionize the fintech industry and foster an inclusive financial future for all – resonates across diverse audiences, geographies, and forums. Alicia's participation is an extension of Givepact's commitment to push boundaries, seize opportunities and promote diversity in fintech. Road Pitch is more than just a pitch competition; it's a platform that seeks to address and break down the barriers that Black founders often face when seeking funding and exposure for their fintech startups.

Diversity in fintech has long been a topic of conversation, and unfortunately, the statistics remain sobering. According to 2019 data from Richard Kerby, a co-founder of the venture fund Equal Ventures, only 2% of venture capitalists identified as Black men in 2018 and a mere 1% as Black women. When we consider that 70% of venture capitalists are white, it paints a rather stark picture of the industry's diversity - or lack thereof.

“The Las Vegas startup ecosystem really showed an interest in Givepact and crypto … we're hoping for something fruitful to come from those relationships built recently,” Meagan said.

We're immensely proud of Alicia's performance and dedication. Her ability to encapsulate the essence of Givepact's mission into pitch after pitch underlines her leadership and passion for the work we do!

As we celebrate this achievement, we are also reminded that there's more work to be done. Each pitch, every conversation, and all connections we made along the way is another step toward a more inclusive and equitable fintech industry.

Our journey didn’t end in Las Vegas. It continues as we work tirelessly to disrupt the fintech industry, and create meaningful and lasting change for social impact. We remain committed to providing innovative solutions that meet the financial needs of diverse communities, and most importantly, empowering them.

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