Fresh off one of the most significant Canadian fintech financings of the year, KOHO founder and CEO Daniel Eberhard is coming to Calgary for a conversation on the future of digital banking.
InterGen is hosting Eberhard at its next Wine Wednesday on June 24 at Thomsons Social Hub inside the Hyatt Regency Calgary. The evening will feature a fireside chat with Sandi Gilbert focused on the shifting landscape for financial technology, regulation, consumer trust, infrastructure, and scale.
The timing gives the discussion added weight. Earlier this month, KOHO announced it had raised $130 million, bringing the company to a $1.33 billion valuation as it moves closer to its goal of becoming a federally regulated bank in Canada.
The financing provides what KOHO described as the initial capital base for a federally regulated bank and includes new backing from Mubadala, Savano Capital, Shopify founder and CEO Tobi Lütke, and Affirm COO Michael Linford. Existing investors Portage Ventures, Drive Capital, BDC Capital, HOOPP, and Eldridge also participated.
RELATED: KOHO’s Banking Ambition Takes Shape With $130 Million Raise
For Calgary’s business and investment community, the conversation lands at a notable moment for Canadian fintech. While digital financial services have grown significantly over the past decade, companies still face major questions around regulation, consumer adoption, partnerships, and the infrastructure required to compete in a market dominated by traditional banks.
Eberhard brings firsthand experience to that discussion. Since launching KOHO in 2014, he has helped grow the company into one of Canada’s most recognized challenger fintech platforms, now serving more than 2.5 million Canadians.
Before founding KOHO, Eberhard co-founded Kineticor Renewables, a wind energy company that developed $50 million in wind projects before being acquired by Algonquin Power in 2011.
The Wine Wednesday discussion is expected to cover what is changing in Canadian fintech, where new opportunities are emerging, and what business leaders and investors should be watching as digital financial services continue to evolve.
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