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Black business owners and workers too often face systemic biases: from underrepresentation in the boardroom to higher rates of unemployment. In <\/em>Black-Owned and Proud<\/em><\/a>, we profile innovative Black entrepreneurs building businesses and bringing much-needed change to the face of enterprise.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n By and large, the lending industry is set up to work well for certain people. If you have a good credit score, consistent payment history, the right debt-to-income ratio, and a stable employment history, the lending gods will likely view your loan application favorably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, many people\u2014especially people of color\u2014tend not to check all of those boxes, and some can\u2019t check any. So they\u2019re often rejected by traditional lenders and become prey for predatory lenders, who employ what can at best be described as immoral practices, gouging payday loan borrowers fees that range from $10 to $30 per $100 borrowed. That equates to close to a 400 percent annual percentage rate (APR) on such loans, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This inequity in lending is what led Travis Holoway (and co-founder Rodney Williams) to start SoLo Funds<\/a> in May 2018. Holoway, who is also the company\u2019s CEO, first noticed the wide disparity in how borrowers are treated when he was working as a financial adviser at Northwestern Mutual. \u201cI discovered a major disconnect between the wealthy clients I met daily and the 78 percent of Americans who live paycheck to paycheck,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI had friends and family who consistently asked me for small loans for basic necessities, such as gas, rent, and utility bills,\u201d he says. \u201cI realized that there were many pain points being experienced by individuals in the middle and low ends of the financial spectrum that were being ignored and desperately needed to be addressed.\u201d That\u2019s when Holoway realized that he had to be a part of the solution. <\/p>\n\n\n