As the fintech sector continues to evolve in Lithuania, a growing number of women in leadership roles are helping propel the country’s most promising and fastest-growing fintech startups ahead in exciting new directions.
We’ve curated a list of 10 of the most influential women fintech founders, leaders and venture capitalists (VCs) reshaping the Lithuanian financial landscape, recognizing them for their expertise, drive and leadership.
Jekaterina Govina, Partner, Response Legal
Jekaterina Govina is a partner at Response Legal, a Lithuanian law firm. At Response Legal, she specializes in fintech, startups and financial services regulation.
Prior to joining the law firm, Govia spent years in the field of fintech and financial regulation in Lithuania, and other European Union (EU) countries, taking part in developing policies for the fintech industry and coordinating fintech strategies.
She was named in 2020 the Fintech Leader of the Year by Fintech Week Lithuania, a fintech event organized by the government, and in 2018, she was recognized as one of Lithuania’s top 100 most influential female leaders.
Renata Sumskaite, CEO and Head, Curve Lithuania
Renata Sumskaite is the CEO and head of Curve Lithuania, the local representation of the London-headquartered startup. Curve allows customers to combine all of their debit and credit cards into one app and gives them a linked smart card they can use to make payments.
Prior to joining Curve in August 2021, Sumskaite headed Rise Vilnius, Barclays’ fintech hub, and was the head of the Barclaycard Change Delivery team in Lithuania. She’s an experienced leader, lecturer and consultant skilled in growing and developing teams, trainings, leadership, sales, process development, business analysis, customer service, team and stakeholder management.
Gerda Jurkoniene, Co-Founder and CEO, Okredo
Gerda Jurkoniene is the CEO and co-founder of Okredo and a part-time lecturer at the Vilnius University focusing on accounting and financial analysis.
Okredo is an open data platform providing data and insights for sales increase and credit risk mitigation. It offers a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that helps small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) assess the credibility, financial strength and sales potential of new and existing business partners and customers.
Jurkoniene has almost 10 years of experience in the financial sector.
Sigute Kunceviciute, CEO, SumUp EU Payments
Sigute Kunceviciute is the CEO of SumUp EU Payments, running the Lithuanian operations SumUp, a London-headquartered mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) company. SumUp is one of the leading mPOS companies in Europe and has created a unique device that allows retailers to accept card payments with the smartphone that’s in your pocket.
Kunceviciute has background in risk and compliance. For the last ~10 years she has held different leadership positions in financial services providers, banks and fintech including Western Union, Nordea, deVere E-Money and Seven Seas Finance.
Erika Maslauskaite, Chief Commercial Officer, Nikulipe
Erika Maslauskaite is the chief commercial officer of Nikulipe, a fintech company specializing in local payment methods.
Maslauskaite’s experience in business development, marketing and change management with an emphasis on digital channels, spans over 10+ years in different industries including tech, media, telecommunications.
She led the marketing and business development divisions of top tech companies and startups, and co-founded mobile centric software development company Deverium, and one of the largest innovation and tech festival in the Baltics, LOGIN.
Gintare Baciuliene, Head of Technology Sector Team, Invest Lithuania
Gintare Baciuliene is the head of technology sector team of Invest Lithuania, the country’s investment promotion agency, where she leads a team of high-performing specialists who advises international software and fintech companies on setting up business operations in Lithuania.
Her responsibilities also include business and government stakeholder engagement, driving recommendations for economic and innovation policy improvement, and the development of foreign direct investment attraction strategy for technology-driven sectors.
Prior to joining Invest Lithuania, Baciuliene worked for the UK’s Department for International Trade, the Australian Lithuanian Business Council, and the UK Trade and Investment.
Ieva Paulauskiene, Investment Advisor for Fintech, Invest Lithuania
Ieva Paulauskiene is an investment advisor for fintech at Invest Lithuania where she advises fintech companies on scaling and licensing in Europe. She has worked with companies from the UK, Switzerland, Spain, and the US, helping them build their European operations by leveraging benefits of Lithuanian fintech landscape.
Before her involvement in fintech, Paulauskiene’s work spanned from social impact startups to community initiatives.
Jekaterina Bitus, Head of Startup Partnership, Swedbank/Rockit Vilnius
Jekaterina Bitus is the head of startup partnership of Swedbank. With more than 20 years of experience in banking, project management, product development, she currently works at Rockit Vilnius, a fintech and sustainable innovation hub in Lithuania powered by Swedbank.
Bitus is deeply involved in the startup ecosystem where she advises and helps entrepreneurs bring innovative solutions to businesses and find new partnerships. She is an active participant in various events, discussions and mentoring sessions where she shares her knowledge, experience and best practices.
Lina Zemaityte-Kirkman, Head, Rockit Vilnius
Lina Zemaityte-Kirkman is the head of Rockit Vilnius where she focuses on strengthening and expanding the center’s partnerships and contribution to the growth of the Lithuanian startup ecosystem. Lina Zemaityte-Kirkman brings extensive experience in digital banking, IT, leading teams, and business consultancy.
Prior to joining Rockit Vilnius, Zemaityte-Kirkman held the position of product manager at Swedbank’s Internet banking division. She’s also a public speaker focusing on fintech, sustainable innovation, community building, mentoring and digital wellbeing.
Jone Vaituleviciute, Managing Partner, Firstpick
Jone Vaituleviciute is a managing partner of Firstpick, an early-stage VC focused on Baltic tech founders. Firstpick has invested in 49 startups so far, including 12 fintech companies, among which Kevin, a payment infrastructure for online and physical sales; Ondato, a compliance management services provider; JeffApp, an consumer lending startup; and HeavyFinance, an online marketplace for agricultural financing.
Vaituleviciute has about 10 years of experience working directly with early-stage companies both in consulting and as an investment fund manager. She has been helping them to evaluate market and tech potential, do market validation, setup initial sales, build their teams and secure funding.
Featured image credit: Edited from Unsplash
