Wemimo’s initial path was similarly rocky after his family took out a 400% payday loan when they first emigrated from Nigeria, Goel noted. “And so, inspired by our shared experiences, we founded Esusu with this core premise that no matter where you come from, the color of your skin or your financial identity, it shouldn’t determine where you end up in life.”
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More pragmatically, he added the platform enables partnering with large owners and operators of multifamily real estate so that when renters pay rent on time, they can build credit just like homeowners do. “And when renters fall behind on rent, we pay them with zero interest financing paid to the landlords,” he added.
Amanda Nunnink, senior managing director at Kanye Anderson Real Estate and co-head of the firm’s Multifamily Impact Strategy, spoke about how the platform had aided her firm and the tenants with whom they deal.
“What Esusu brings is an application that is easily reviewed and obtained by residents so they can understand the factors that go into their credit score,” she said. “They can see live how it moves with their on-time rent payments and they also are engaged in what factors and what rights they have in terms of building credit. So I think the program really supports that financial mobility. That is something that’s really important to our impact investors. But at the same time as an owner, it gives us measurable outcomes because, as I mentioned, our stats through our partnership, 97% of the renters in our portfolio at Kayne Anderson are using Esusu today. And we’re seeing 67% of those renters in just three months’ time have an increase in credit scores – and that increase was 20 points. So really incredible measurements.”