- Financial technology platform company Esusu announced that it raised $1.6 million in seed funding led by Acumen Fund
Esusu — a financial technology platform company that is helping individuals save money and build credit — recently announced it raised $1.6 million in seed funding led by Acumen Fund with participation from Sinai Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Katapult Accelerator, Plug and Play Tech Center, Global Good Fund, Temerity Capital Partners, and several angel investors.
Founded by Wemimo Abbey and Samir Goel along with founding team members Albert Owusu-Asare (CTO) and Robert Henning (CFO), Esusu debuted its peer-to-peer savings app on iOS and Android in 2018.
And this year, Esusu launched a signature rent reporting platform to give renters credit for making monthly payments — a benefit historically reserved for homeowners. Plus Esusu has been at the forefront of the technology integration of rent reporting and partners with leading public and private sector housing developers to report rent payment data to credit bureaus. Generally, rent reporting has proved to not only lift credit scores but it also helps landlords improve underwriting, reduce missed payments, and retain tenants longer.
“With the support of our strategic investors and partners, Esusu is poised for unprecedented growth and ready to scale to serve the millions of Americans struggling to save and create a financial identity,” said Abbey. “There are 45 million people in the United States without a credit score; our platform helps to score them, build their credit profiles and will ultimately unlock over $3.1 trillion in untapped capital.”
Through this round of funding, Esusu plans to scale, expand market share, and focus on product development. And the new funds will be used to enhance the rent reporting platform, onboard new partnerships, and extend overall reach. Plus they are planning to grow the team and make key leadership roles across sales, technology, and operations.
“As impact investors focused on improving the financial health of all Americans, we look for entrepreneurs who are tackling frictions in the financial services industry that are adversely affecting both sides of the market. We’re excited by Esusu and the vision of co-founders Samir and Abbey to build better tools for traditional financial services industry players. Esusu serves lower-income and historically credit-challenged consumers, while simultaneously empowering these consumers with credit-building tools that can transform their access to wealth-building – rather than predatory products and services,” added Acumen portfolio manager Eliza Golden.
Esusu is also going to continue to innovate and scale through a number of partnerships with national organizations including the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and Credit Builders Alliance (CBA).
“Esusu is growing swiftly to meet the demand for our rent reporting platform, and our nonprofit and corporate partnerships are essential to scaling while continuing to ensure safe and friction-free customer experience,” explained Goel. “Our technology is capturing financial information that has never been recorded to equalize the playing field and increase access to capital and credit for millions that have been underserved by the financial system.”
