Forty-five million Americans are credit invisible, meaning they do not have a credit score or have had very little opportunity to build credit. Many of these millions are people of color, low-income people or immigrants. Esusu co-CEO Wemimo Abbey is trying to do something about that. Esusu is on a mission to democratize access to credit. By reporting on-time rental payments to the three major credit bureaus, the company allows people with no or low credit scores to build credit history. In the five years since its founding, Esusu has reached over one million renters in all 50 states and helped put 44,000 people on the financial map. 

In this episode of Leadership Next, hosts Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt talk with Abbey about how Esusu's platform is helping change who can fully participate in the American economy. Abbey shares what inspired him to start the company, how Esusu makes money, and his long-term dreams for it. He also shares how he persevered through "NOs" from over 300 investors to become the founder of what is now a unicorn company.

Later in the episode, McGirt is joined by Erika Seth Davies, the CEO of Rhia Ventures and the founder of The Racial Equity Asset Lab. Seth Davies shares her thoughts on trends in impact investing, the barriers diverse-owned companies face when looking for capital, and what we can all do to encourage investment in those companies.

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