WEMIMO ABBEY CO-FOUNDER & CO-CEO, ESUSU Keynote Speaker
Urban Futurist DR. CINDY FREWEN, FAIA URBAN FUTURIST & ARCHITECT
Wemimo Abbey is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Esusu, the leading financial technology company helping individuals save money and build credit. Wemimo grew up in the slums of Lagos, Nigeria, and came to the United States when he was 17. He and his mother struggled to receive a loan without
Dr. Cindy Frewen, FAIA, urban futurist and architect, teaches the Design Futures Workshop and Social Change at the University of Houston graduate program in Strategic Foresight. She consults, speaks, and writes on urbanization, future cities, and design futures, specializing in the intersection of people,
a credit score and borrowed money from a payday lender at over 400% interest. That experience inspired Wemimo and his co-founder to start Esusu, a financial technology company that helps households use their on-time rent payments to build credit in 2018. The company also offers zero-interest loans to struggling families through a partnership with the charity Stable Home Fund. Most recently, Esusu raised a $130 million Series B equity financing round with a $1 billion valuation. The company was also named to the Time 100 Next List. Beyond Esusu, Wemimo is Board Member/ Commissioner at the Smithsonian National Portraits Gallery. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Minnesota with a B.S. in Business Management. He earned his M.P.A. from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. Wemimo was recognized on Forbes 2020 30 Under 30 list; and Crain's and Fortune 's 40 Under 40 2022 lists. In 2021 and 2022, he was selected by Goldman Sachs as one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs. This year the Esusu partners were selected as EY Entrepreneurs of the Year Award.
technology, and environment. Clients include the United Nations Development Program, UNESCO, US AID, US Treasury, US Federal Reserve, US General Services Administration, IBM, Hallmark Cards, VF Corporation, Transforming Local Government, and Water.org. She has presented to groups in Dubai, Vancouver, Singapore, Taiwan, Paris, London, Johannesburg, Rio de Janeiro, Washington DC, New York City, and Chicago. Cindy serves on the board of the Kansas City Design Center, chaired the board of the Association of Professional Futurists (APF) for seven years (a global organization of over 500 members in 40+ countries) and wrote a column for The Kansas City Star newspaper. Cindy is: • A business owner for three decades focused on design, sustainability, community development, and public works • An instructor at the University of Houston graduate program in Strategic Foresight since 2007 • The chief architect for design and planning of the Kansas City downtown civic center, a sixty-block vision and development strategy, centered on Ilus W. Davis Park, a two-block civic commons anchoring the government district • Recognized by The American Institute of Architects as a Fellow and with her work featured in a national traveling exhibit “That Exceptional One” • Recognized as a Distinguished Alumna by the School of Architecture, Design, and Planning at University of Kansas • Honored by The National Association of Women Business Owners in Kansas as the inaugural Business Owner of the Year
THE NHP FOUNDATION 2023 SYMPOSIUM • 9
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