SoLo Funds
Community finance is where neighbors lend to one another, on fair terms, when the traditional system won't.
Our role: Early investor and liquidity partner
Type: Community finance platform (Certified Public Benefit Corporation / B Corp)
Focus: Peer-to-peer small-dollar lending that expands access to fair, emergency credit
SoLo Funds is a community finance platform where members step up for one another by lending and borrowing on their own terms, without the mandatory fees, rollover traps, and compound interest that define so much of small-dollar credit. Founded in 2018 by Travis Holoway and Rodney Williams, SoLo set out to build something more human: a place where a nurse in Ohio can lend $100 to help a gig worker in Texas cover a car repair, and both are better for it.
We invested early and we've gone a step further, providing a batch loan that supplies liquidity for borrowers on the platform, so more members can be funded, faster, when they need help most.
Why We Backed Them
Tens of millions of Americans are cash-poor, not because they are irresponsible, but because the system charges the most to those who can least afford it. A single unexpected expense such as a car repair, a utility bill, a short rent gap can cascade into eviction or a payday-loan debt spiral. That is a failure of access and agency, the exact conditions a flourishing economy should protect.
SoLo attacks that problem by mutualizing it: turning community members into one another's lenders, on transparent terms the borrower sets. We believed in the model enough to invest in the company early. But equity alone doesn't put cash in a borrower's hands. So we also committed a batch loan — patient capital deployed as liquidity across the platform — that helps ensure borrowers can actually get funded when they ask. It's one-pocket investing expressed in two instruments at once: ownership in the mission, and capital directly serving the people it's meant to reach.
What SoLo Does
Borrow — request a short-term loan on your own terms, with no mandatory fees, no rollover fees, and no compound interest; offer an optional tip to show appreciation.
Lend — put money to work in your community to make an impact or a return, with SoLo lender protection stepping in where it counts.
Bank — the SoLo Wallet and forthcoming account services help members move money, build their SoLo score, and improve their chances of getting funded.
SoLo IQ — a personalized AI co-pilot to help members navigate their financial lives.
Real Impact
By SoLo's own reporting, the community has reached:
2+ million app downloads
2.5+ million loans funded
~2 minutes median funding time
82% of members from underserved ZIP codes
more than one loan funded every minute
As a Certified Public Benefit Corporation, SoLo builds these outcomes into its charter, not just its marketing.
Why It Matters To Us
SoLo brings our financial-inclusion thesis home. Where CIM and Lendable extend responsible credit through fintech lenders, SoLo does it person-to-person by proving that access to fair, dignified capital can be built on community trust rather than extraction. Backing it with both equity and liquidity lets us help widen who gets to participate in the economy, one small, timely loan at a time.
Learn more at solofunds.com.
SoLo Funds is a financial technology company, not a bank; banking services are provided by Bangor Savings Bank, Member FDIC. For funders, returns are not guaranteed and loan principal may be lost. This page is informational and not an offer of, or solicitation for, investment. Figures reflect SoLo's most recently published data.
Keep Exploring
Community flourishes when capital, people, and institutions move together.
Explore more on this topic — recommended episodes, posts, portfolio companies, and resources below:
More Than Profit podcast episodes
OTHER BLOG POSTS
resources for download
Economic agency is shaped by systems.
It is shaped by who can access capital, who can take risk without losing stability, and who can participate in ownership. And because agency is shaped by systems, it is also shaped by place.
At Access Ventures, we believe a flourishing regional economy requires more than isolated investment. It requires intentional alignment through blended finance. Because we do not flourish alone.