Kiwi fintech CEO awarded honours by Women Icons Network in Asia

A Kiwi fintech founder is making waves in Asia, representing New Zealand female excellence in the technology sector through a global enterprise.

RIPA Global Founder and CEO Mel Gollan has been named the Leading Emerging Entrepreneur in 2022 by Women Icons Network in Singapore, celebrating her commitment to enhancing the success of the brand and her driven entrepreneurship.

The award was presented at the Collective for Equality International Women's Day 2022 Summit hosted by Women Icons Network, which brought together senior corporate leaders, women and men, with the aim of creating a roadmap to tangible change in workplace equity.

The awards recognised professional women already driving change, and Gollan says she is humbled and honoured to be acknowledged.

"As a Woman of Māori descent and the sole founder of a globally focused fintech, I acknowledge I am one of a very small number doing what I am doing," she says.

"To know I am championed by industry leaders around the world is both humbling and thrilling."

Gollan also says that she is proud of her RIPA Global team's work and highlights the success of the sustainable solutions the company is implementing across the APAC region and beyond.

"Being recognised as the emerging entrepreneur in Asia is a proud achievement, and a nod to the mahi my team is doing. When I set out to solve the problem of BPA-enriched receipts, processing expense reports and compliance issues for businesses – I didn't realise just how globally transforming our automation platform for payments and bi-directional data would be."

She says Singapore (and Asia in general) is a great place for companies to enter a growing market, with a variety of opportunities accessible to all.

"Singapore supports disruptive transformation and leads the world in embracing new technologies that elevate business performance and people. Singapore is the springboard into Asia, and Asia is leading the world in automation and business process that brings environmental relief to our planet."

"We are across three countries with our connected platform front and centre, integrated into the market-leading POS companies which enables us to change the narrative."

Gollan says that she is humbled to be representing her whanau in the technology field and encourages other women to follow their goals and achieve their dreams as well.

"Being of Maori descent and the first woman in my family to have soft hands is humbling. Each generation wants to do better for the next – my ancestors did their job, now it's my turn to do mine," she says.
     
"Women are amazing fixers by nature and technology is all about fixing problems. Perfect match!"