US-based Zim entrepreneur honoured
A US-based Zimbabwean who is the founder and chief executive officer of Matrix Rental Solutions Mr Sipho Simela has been named “Company of the Year” by the Stamford Chamber of Commerce.
Matrix Rental Solutions, is a Stamford-based technology based firm whose mission is to improve access to fair and affordable housing.
The company, which employs nine people, will be honoured at the chamber’s 36th annual meeting and awards ceremony on September 28 to be also attended by Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons.
According to Matrix website, the firm is a tenant analysis fintech platform that is changing the landscape of the growing, $500 billion rental housing market.
Commenting on the award, Mr Simela said, “When we found out about the Company of the Year Award, it was an amazing feeling.
“It was, in my estimation, a confirmation that what we’re doing works and what we’re doing is very much needed in places like Stamford.”
Mr Simela founded Matrix in 2020 and moved the company to its headquarters in Stamford in 2021.
“When we started the company, we were laser-focused on this idea of improving the quality of the [rental] application process,” Mr Simela is quoted saying.
Matrix developed the first universal rental application to streamline the rental process and make it more equitable and convenient for renters and landlords. There is a single fee, and Matrix uses real-time data to produce “an ability to pay” score.
He added, “There are so many would-be homeowners that are really just stuck in the limbo of the rental market right now.
“If you look at the downstream impact and what that does particularly to individuals with low to moderate income, there’s a big gap.”
The application also makes it easier for people to accept housing vouchers.
As a result of the company’s success, Mr Simela was asked to serve as a member on the Bipartisan Policy Centre Executive Council on Housing Affordability on a national level with current executive members representing Airbnb, Amazon, Pretium, USAA, Weyerhaeuser and Zillow.
Mr Simela, a first-generation Zimbabwean immigrant, said housing has always been an issue “near and dear” to his heart.
“I have many friends and family that really struggled when they came to the United States with the idea of housing. How do you prove your creditworthiness, how do you even go about the application process?” he said.
After a 10-year career in capital markets, Mr Simela entered the fintech and proptech worlds.
“I had always wanted to be a founder. I always wanted to help make a bigger change,” he noted, adding that his parents instilled in him the importance of stewardship at a young age.
“The same way they spend so much of their time and resources helping people at a more individual level, I feel we’re almost obligated as innovators here in tech to deploy our resources for the greater good,” Mr Simela said.
Mr Simela praised the Stamford Chamber of Commerce and Simmons for welcoming him to the community.
“We’re excited because when we look across Stamford, we see such a diverse socioeconomic universe, but all centred around such a strong economy,” Mr Simela said.
“There’s this idea that people want to live, work and play in the same area, and how do you now make the process of living that much easier? That’s what we’re focused on.”
-chronicle
