Rodney Williams, Changing Access to Capital with SoLo Funds

SoLo Funds is the outgrowth of co-founder and chairman Rodney Williams’ lived experience of a mother who regularly needed access to short-term cash to stay current with bills and to maintain household cohesion. Such loans were very limited and costly in his neighborhood. Rodney wanted to develop a community-based lending marketplace for small dollar amounts as an alternative to banks, high-interest credit cards, and predatory lenders that impose unfair, deceptive, or abusive terms on borrowers.

SoLo Funds operates a community peer-to-peer lending platform. The company announced 1 million registered users as of 2023, making it reportedly the largest black-owned financial technology company in the U.S. Let’s explore how Rodney and SoLo Funds are aggregating the power of community to change the game for short-term borrowers in lower-income neighborhoods.

Moving the Needle is hosted by Christopher Gergen & Johnathan Holifield, and is produced by Earfluence.

If you like our podcast, you'll also like our books:

• The Future Economy and Inclusive Competitiveness: How Demographic Trends and Innovation Can Create Economic Prosperity for All Americans, by Johnathan Holifield
• Life Entrepreneurs: Ordinary People Creating Extraordinary Lives, by Christopher Gergen and Gregg Vanourek

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If you like our podcast, you'll also like our books:

• The Future Economy and Inclusive Competitiveness: How Demographic Trends and Innovation Can Create Economic Prosperity for All Americans, by Johnathan Holifield
• Life Entrepreneurs: Ordinary People Creating Extraordinary Lives, by Christopher Gergen and Gregg Vanourek