Our goal in the United States is to help lift underserved and low-wealth South Sudanese immigrant communities out of poverty through financial education, credit building, and small-dollar consumer loan.

We are achieving this goal through our program, My Money, My Credit.

Brother Deng’s “My Money, My Credit” program creates an impact by teaching South Sudanese

immigrants to have understanding and confidence in the financial and credit-building systems

available to them in their new country to help them join the economic mainstream.

The problem our program solves is the pain and frustrations that come from the need for more

understanding of the banking and credit system. Many of these people suffer simply because of

their backgrounds, particularly those with whom our organization has many relations.

The native country of South Sudan has weak or unethical financial institutions, which cause

many to distrust banks and credit-building means, forcing them to struggle to rent an

apartment, respond to an emergency, or qualify for a mortgage and other loans.

Before COVID-19 hit most Americans, South Sudanese immigrant communities were already

encountering difficulties, including the lack of financial security provided by good credit.

According to the Migration Policy Institute, at the start of the pandemic, immigrant workers

across the country—regardless of immigration status—were hit hardest by COVID-19 layoffs.

Six million immigrants who worked in the restaurant, hotel, or home healthcare industries lost

their jobs. Because of this, most immigrants and refugees will face significant challenges

accessing financial resources and credit, even after the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 has

quickly worsened housing, healthcare, and income instability for immigrants and refugee

communities, especially South Sudanese.

With the help of our partners, credit unions, community banks, and other dedicated community

organizations like us, we look to give education, confidence, information, guidance, and hope to

those who need it most. It will create a massive ripple effect as more South Sudanese

immigrants can participate in their local and global economies, providing a better future for

their families and communities. We believe what one is born with or where they are born

should not dictate their future!

We aim to help South Sudanese immigrants in the United States join the economic mainstream

to create a brighter future for themselves, their families, and their communities. When South

Sudanese immigrants understand and can gain access to improved financial processes and

incentives, they’re not the only ones who win. We all know financial stress is one of the most

significant problems facing members of our society. This hole can be almost impossible to climb

out of without good credit.

In 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reported that 26 million Americans are

"credit invisible." This figure indicates that one in every ten adults has no credit history with

one of the three nationwide credit reporting companies. An additional 19 million consumers

have “unscorable” credit files, which means that their file is thin and has an insufficient credit

history (9.9 million), or they have stale files and lack any recent credit history (9.6 million). In

sum, there are 45 million consumers who may be denied access to credit because they do not

have credit records that can be scored.

People who are credit invisible or unscorable generally do not have access to quality credit and

may face a range of issues, from trying to obtain credit to leasing an apartment. These figures

are three times higher for South Sudanese immigrant communities. The “My Money, My

Credit” program provides a ladder to those in the deepest holes. The program offers a

foundation for understanding what credit is and how it works. This shows participants that to

develop and consistently improve their credits; they must engage in the efforts that will do so.

We have a three-step process for carrying out this education and improvement.

1. Financial Education – We can’t expect people to know what they need to improve without

awareness and understanding. Our program provides South Sudanese immigrants their first

look at their financial well-being through our financial education to help them understand if

they can fully meet current and ongoing financial obligations, feel secure in their financial

future, and make choices that allow them to enjoy life. 

Our goal focuses on whether the individual has control over day-to-day, and month-to-month

finances, can absorb a financial shock, is on track to meet their financial goals, and, most

importantly, has the financial freedom to make the choices that allow them to enjoy life. 

Our financial education intended to deliver on the following five principles of economic well-

being:

 Knowing the individuals and families whom we serve

 Providing actionable, relevant, and timely information

 Improving critical financial skills

 Building on motivation

 Make it easy for them to make good decisions and follow through.

2. Credit building & improvement – The first and most crucial step in building and maintaining

good credit is to know and understand what is in someone’s credit report by requesting a

report from the big three credit reporting companies, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Credit

reports allow an individual to understand their current creditworthiness better. Our goal is to

help and teach South Sudanese how to check and get their credit reports to ensure no errors

could keep them from getting the best available loan terms.

It is also imperative for them to learn about the difference between credit scores and credit

reports because both are critical to their financial health, and each one plays a very different

role. For instance, a credit report is a statement with information about someone’s credit

activity and current situation, such as payment history on loans and the status of credit

accounts. In comparison, a credit score is calculated based on the information in their credit

report. Credit scores and the information on credit reports are essential for determining

whether someone can get a mortgage, credit card, auto loan, or other credit product and, most

importantly, the interest rate they will pay. Our offering of ongoing classes and consultations

will allow these people to confidently advance their credit, knowledge, and quality of life.

Some of the things that can help people build strong credit are:

 Pay your loans or bills on time.

 Not spending more than 30% of your total credit limit

 Keeping a long credit history

 Only apply for the credit you need.

 Always fact-check your credit reports

3. Credit builder loan – We look to be a lighthouse, meaning we’re a constant source of

guidance. After laying the groundwork, we will help any participant applying for credit

opportunities. Because we’re helping South Sudanese immigrants, we play a paramount role in

their capacity to understand and help them achieve their financial goals. One of the ways we

can help them achieve their financial goals is by providing small-dollar credit builder loans to

those who cannot obtain credit elsewhere. There is an excellent benefit to offering a credit

builder loan to South Sudanese immigrants who don’t have or have a low credit score.

According to Justine PETERSEN, which has been offering credit builder loans since 2008,

reported in The Power of Credit Building, “On average, clients with no credit score reach 680,

and those with low scores see a 50-point increase in six months.”

Project Roadmap

This program is new, so we seek partnerships and collaborations with financial institutions and

other community organizations to catalyze our launch. The determination and need are

present. We know partnership will provide the resources and guidance to make our program

and the change it will bring as dynamic and lasting as possible.

Risks & Mitigating Factors

The biggest hurdle we anticipate will be competition with payday lenders, credit repair services,

and other personal credit services. Payday lenders offer an appealing option to those in our

target market. Unfortunately, they do this in a predatory manner. They give loans to people

who typically can’t get a loan from a bank or credit union, making them even more of a threat

to our vision. What makes them such a threat is also where we can beat them! We have a good

relationship and trust with our customers and a target market built through our existing

services, and we will continue to build on that. We have a better chance of competing with

them as we provide affordable consumer products to our fellow immigrants and refugees.

The same can be said about credit repair and personal credit services. They may have a

competitive advantage in our target market, but they don’t provide education and coaching to

immigrants and refugees as we plan to do. As we get started, we face the challenge of

marketing our service. We plan to overcome this hurdle with tireless reach out, marketing

campaigns, and free seminars teaching financial planning and responsibility.

Communication will be the key to building solid relationships, trust, and credibility. Language

barriers and cultural differences will make communication challenging, and we must work

harder to overcome those challenges. Our founder, William Deng, speaks the Dinka Language,

which is spoken by most of our South Sudanese immigration community in our targeted

audience. Therefore, William Deng and our newly hired bilingual will address the language and

cultural barriers. 

Our final potential risk factor is breaking down systemic and generational barriers of the

mindset around money that exists in most immigrants and refugees. The concept of credit

building and financial education is entirely new to most immigrants and refugees. It may take

much effort to help them understand our services so they feel comfortable using them. The

growth in second generations of immigrants and refugees who speak English very well

increases the opportunity for us to provide them with credit-building and financial education

services, who will then translate our products and services to their parents and relatives.

Goals & Targets

By the end of year 1, we will have 120 participants using our Financial Literacy and Credit

Building Services. By the end of year 2, we will have 360, and by year 3, we will have 720. This is

an aggressive growth plan, but by adding ten new participants a month, we’re

confident we can grow and scale our operations successfully.

Partnership opportunity

We have an excellent opportunity to tap into an existing network of banks, credit unions, credit

repair companies, and personal credit services. We plan to partner with them to provide more

value to an underserved market. Appealing to these entities as a potential source of new

business will allow us to use their current platforms, buildings, and resources to host classes,

seminars, and other events. This will provide a win-win scenario.

We do not provide any banking products or services. Therefore, our partners, such as banks and

credit unions, can offer new customers the needed services. We aim to teach and provide

financial education to immigrants and refugees to help them responsibly utilize banking and

credit union products and services. 

Conclusion

South Sudanese immigrants and refugees living abroad have families and relatives who depend

on them back home for many things, including financial support. Many South Sudanese People

send money back home every month to help provide education, food, and shelter for their

families and relatives. They will support their families and relatives even more comfortably if

they are financially stable abroad, like in the United States. As you can see, we have a big vision

to impact hundreds of thousands of immigrants and refugees by giving them an understanding

of and access to education, resources, and trust in the banking and financial systems.