Empowering Careers, Building Leaders

Learn from experience | Lead with purpose | Connect across finance
Applications for LaunchMe27 opening this September
Application Open

8 September 2026

Applications Close

30 October 2026

Program Starts

January 2027

Program Ends

June 2027

About LaunchMe 

LaunchMe is 100 Women in Finance’s global mentorship program, connecting students and early-career professionals with experienced industry professionals. Since its inception in 2022, the program has engaged over 1,400 participants across 19+ countries through one-to-one mentoring, group sessions, webinars, peer exchange and networking.

The program helps mentees explore career possibilities, build strategic career skills, develop business acumen and enhance their professional network. Mentors enhance leadership skills and help cultivate the next generation of finance professionals.

The six-month program runs every year from January to June. Applications open each September for the coming year.

“This mentorship program has fundamentally changed how I see myself as a woman in finance. It has given me the confidence to take up space and advocate for myself.”
Mentee, LaunchMe 2026


LaunchMe is a mentorship program focused on personal and professional development.

It is not a recruitment or job-placement service.

Applications for LaunchMe27 are now open

8 Sep 2026
Applications Open

30 Oct 2026
Applications Close

Jan – June 2027
Program Runs

LaunchMe runs on the Qooper software platform. Create an account using your 100WF email address and complete the application. If you’re not yet a 100WF member, sign up here first.

Who is LaunchMe for

Mentees

Eligibility
  • Undergraduate or postgraduate students
  • Early-career professionals (0–5 years’ experience)
  • 100WF member (free one-year membership for students)  member sign-up
What we’re looking for
  • Demonstrated interest in finance
  • A growth mindset
Benefits
  • Personalized 1:1 mentoring with a finance professional
  • Professional Development: communication style, personal brand, networking, business acumen
  • Market insight and a lens into a variety of careers in financial services
  • A global peer community of students and early-career professionals

“This has given me clearer direction, greater confidence, and a more strategic approach to my long-term career development.”

Student Mentee, LaunchMe YYYY

Mentors

Eligibility
  • 100WF member — member sign-up
  • 3+ years of finance experience
  • 5+ years to be matched with an early-career mentee
Benefits
  • Strengthen leadership skills and emotional intelligence
  • Contribute to shaping the next generation of finance talent
  • Gain new perspectives from mentees and fellow mentors
  • Expand your global professional network

“This was my first year in the LaunchMe Program, and while I expected to grow as a mentor, what surprised me most was how much I grew as a leader for my own firm and team. As much as my mentee may have gained, I feel I gained tenfold from the experience.”

Mentor, LaunchMe 2025

Looking Back at LaunchMe 2026

LaunchMe 2026 brought together mentors and mentees across 19 countries. Mentors came from diverse areas within finance including asset & wealth management, sales & trading, research, fintech, sustainable investing and private equity, with experience ranging from 3 years to 20+ years.

Program Impact
  • 95% said the time they invested was significantly worthwhile

  • 92% agreed the program contributed to their development

  • 89% found the mentor–mentee relationship significantly meaningful

  • 100% of mentees felt more confident in their professional abilities

  • 20% increase in mentees’ development of business acumen from the start of the program

In 2026, LaunchMe moved to Qooper — a streamlined mentoring software platform & mobile app for mentor matching, scheduling, program resources and communication.

Thank you to our LaunchMe Sponsors:

What the Six Months Look Like

Duration: 6 months      |     Commitment: ~2–3 hours/month

Format: Monthly 1:1 mentoring sessions, plus a core curriculum guiding sessions through the six months.


January: Virtual LaunchMe kickoff call for all participants; mandatory mentee training and optional mentor training.

February – May: Speaker series, webinars and peer interaction.

June: Global closing call for all participants.

Also: In-person events in several locations.

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Why does my member profile look different

We have listened to feedback from our members and have made some enhancements to the member profile to enrich your overall experience.

New Features:

  • You can now customize the type of communications you receive from 100WF, ensuring you get the most relevant updates tailored to your interests.
  • Additionally, you have the option to select specific locations for event invitations, so they align with your preferences. By default, all locations are included, so feel free to personalize this setting. You may select as many locations as you like.

 

We kindly request that you take 5 minutes to review and update your profile. This is a great opportunity to update your information, including your years of experience, current employer, and location. This will help you receive targeted communications and invitations relevant to your career stage and interests.

Finally, we would like to remind you to verify the due date for your annual access fee. If your membership has lapsed, please renew your membership here.

For any questions, please contact 100WF Membership.

How to edit your profile

1️⃣ Please login to your membership by selecting MEMBER AREA from the website’s top menu:

2️⃣ Then enter your login details:

 

3️⃣ To edit your details select the Edit profile button:

 

4️⃣ When you have finished making changes click on the SAVE button:

5️⃣  Select from the tabs at the top of the screen to update the different parts of your profile including employment information, board experience, education and your address and please save each tab as you continue.

 

 

Selecting your email subscription preferences

Please follow the steps below or you can watch this short video:

 

1️⃣ To update your email subscription preferences you need to edit your profile (see above). Under the heading Email Subscription you should confirm which emails you want to receive from us. PLEASE NOTE – by default all options will be selected for new members so you can deselect any you don’t want to receive, and for existing members the options will best match your existing profile (including your default location) but you can update the options as required:

 

2️⃣ The locations are grouped by region (Americas, APAC and EMEA) to make it easier to select all by region but you can also choose any mix of individual locations that best suit you.

PLEASE NOTE: Events are in English and when indicated in an email invitation native languages.

I am student member but can no longer access the member area
Each December, Student Members are required to recertify they are enrolled as a student for the upcoming calendar year. Please first check that you have completed this step.

1️⃣  When you login to your profile you should see a button “Certify Student Status

 

2️⃣  Please update your student record uncluding the graduation year for your current instution (see example below) and then click on “Confirm Student Information”

You can enter up to three insitutions and if not applicable please select NONE

 

My institute isn't available under "School/University" on my profile

We try to keep as complete a record as we can on global institutions but if your educational establishment isn’t available on the dropdown please enter “OTHER”

 

I need to update the email on my membership account

1️⃣ First login to your member profile and then select update “Update email”

 

2️⃣ Then enter your new email address in the “email” and  “confirm email” boxes and then click “save”.

 

3️⃣ You should see a message that confirming that a verification link has been sent to your email.

 

4️⃣ Check your email for a message with subject “Verify Email Address” (please note this may have gone to your spam folder) and click on the “verify email address” button. 

 

 

 

Your email on your profile should now be up to date.

If you are not able to login to change your email address please contact 100WF Membership to request a change. update

I can no longer make it to an event how do I cancel my registration?

If you can no longer attend an event please contact the organizing committee by using one of the following methods:

  1. If you still have the email invite there should be a link in the email to contact the committee.
  2. You can also look for the event on our upcoming events page and if you select the event you should be able to find the contact details/link on the event page
  3. You can find contact links for organizing committees by choosing from our locations page and then finding the relevant committee.

Our 4 Key Focus Areas
Build Your Professional Network

“This has given me clearer direction, greater confidence, and a more strategic approach to my long-term career development.”

Student Mentee, LaunchMe YYYY

Strengthen Your Business Acumen
“Gained a much clearer picture of what professional life actually looks like in practice — communicating effectively over email, navigating AI in the workplace, learning how to carry yourself in a professional environment.”
Mentee, LaunchMe [insert year]

Build Your Professional Network

“This has given me clearer direction, greater confidence, and a more strategic approach to my long-term career development.”

Student Mentee, LaunchMe YYYY

Strengthen Your Business Acumen
“Gained a much clearer picture of what professional life actually looks like in practice — communicating effectively over email, navigating AI in the workplace, learning how to carry yourself in a professional environment.”
Mentee, LaunchMe [insert year]

LaunchMe Committee Members

LaunchMe26 Professional Committee

Debbie Bigman

Committee Chair
Program Director and Founder
AMER (NYC)

Eleri Rhidian

Committee Vice Chair
EMEA (London)

Carrie DiLauro

Committee Member
AMER (Connecticut)

Emily Alejos

Committee Member
AMER (NYC)

Elizabeth Doerr

Committee Member
AMER (NYC)

Abbe Serphos

Committee Member
AMER (NYC)

Sarah Gannon

Committee Member
EMEA (PARIS)

Kate Sullivan

Committee Member
EMEA (LONDON)

LaunchMe26 Mentee Committee

Anastasiia Klimova

Committee Chair
AMER (NYC)

Victoria O’Tool

Committee Member
AMER (NYC)

Vedika Duboliya

Committee Member
AMER (Utah)

Chanel Van der Merwe

Committee Member
EMEA (London)

Kitty Shropshire

Committee Member
EMEA (London)

Hamna Farooq

Committee Member
APAC

Maria Nikitanova

Committee Member
AMER (NYC)

LaunchMe26 Cayman Islands Committee

Tanis McDonald

Committee Chair

Edel Andersen

Kari Rankin

Danielle Hennings

Sally Peedom

Vanessa Williams

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