For many entrepreneurs – especially those excluded from traditional financial systems – the challenge isn’t just growing a business. It’s getting a fair chance to begin.
The Get Ready Loan reimagines financial readiness by pairing small-dollar revolving credit with high-touch, personalized coaching.
This case study, produced in partnership with the Urban Institute and supported by MetLife Foundation, documents what happens when capital and trust are extended to those historically denied both.
The Get Ready Loan challenges the idea that financial systems are neutral. It shows that with the right support – credit, coaching, and trust – entrepreneurs once declined can not only access capital but thrive.
It matters because:
At Ascendus, we’re proving that credit isn’t fixed – it can be coached, cultivated, and grown. And when it is, the impact ripples through businesses, households, and communities.
To understand the true impact of the Get Ready Loan, we partnered with the Urban Institute to conduct a mixed-methods study. The research combined borrower interviews with credit and program data – capturing both performance outcomes and lived experience.
Through this approach, we were able to understand not just what the program delivers – but what it makes possible.
The Get Ready Loan is more than a product – it’s a call to action.
A call to reimagine credit not as a barrier, but as a bridge.
A call to believe that when we listen deeply and innovate boldly, we can design solutions once thought impossible – solutions that move all of us up.