Are you a home renter with a poor credit score? Fret not! Serena Williams is here to help.
The tennis champion recently made an undisclosed investment into Esusu, a rent-reporting fintech.
She did this via Serena Ventures, her venture capital firm.
Williams revealed Serena Ventures exists to invest in various founders and early-stage companies that generate impact and outperform, while also creating opportunities and empowering others.
Esusu is one such company, hence the investment she made. She likes how it focuses on building credit and generating pathways to financial inclusion for both individuals and working families.
To date, Esusu has raised over $14 million. Its other investors include Zeal Capital, Next Play Ventures, and Global Good Fund.
Esusu was formed in 2018 by Samir Goel and Abbey Wemimo, who both came from immigrant families that struggled to build credit and pay rent after they moved to the United States.
According to Ollen Douglas, the Motley Fool Ventures managing director, Esusu is the perfect example of a fintech company that leverages tech to deliver much-needed and scalable financial solutions for communities that have always been underserved.
They offer inclusive credit building that can unlock assets to credit for households around the country that only earn low to medium income.
Right now, around 41 million families in the U.S. live in apartments, and over 45 million Americans do not even have a credit score.
Esusu is using its platform to report and record rental payments to the nation’s biggest credit bureaus: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax.
Esusu is currently working with 30% of the National Multifamily Housing Council’s biggest landlords.
Its partners include Starwood Capital Group, Camden Property Trust, Winn Residential, Related Companies, and Goldman Sachs.
The two owners plan to use their new funding from the tennis superstar to increase their cybersecurity and scale the business.
Though they already exist in 2 million houses across 50 states, they want to grow this into 5 million households in the next year.
They also plan to increase their growth through product innovation and to recruit the top talents around.
Esusu is creating a scenario where everyone wins, especially underserved populations.
