Some 45 million people in the US are “credit invisible,” lacking credit history with the major credit bureaus. Without a credit score, it’s almost impossible to build equity in large assets such as home mortgages.
In episode two of The Market Makers, Troy Duffie and Lenore Champagne Beirne talk to Wemimo Abbey, the founder of Esusu, a company that helps people leverage their rent payment history in order to improve or inform their credit score.
When Abbey’s mother arrived in the US from Lagos, she was turned away by banks because of her lack of credit history, and ended up borrowing money from a payday lender at a more than 400% interest rate.
Inspired by that experience, he and his cofounder started Esusu on a core premise: “No matter where you come from, the color of your skin and your financial identity shouldn’t determine where you end up in the wealthiest nation the world has ever seen,” says Abbey.
Esusu has unlocked $22 billion dollars in mortgages, auto loans, personal loans and other financing for the 120,000 people who have used its service.
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The Market Makers is a production of Lenore Champagne Beirne and Troy Duffie and is part of the ImpactAlpha Podcast Network: smart conversations by and for impact investing professionals.
