Archana Rajan is a member of We Are All America’s Refugee and Immigrant Leadership Table. She is a financial services professional with eight years of experience specializing in credit solutions for small businesses. With a global perspective shaped by her upbringing in India and Dubai, she creates culturally responsive financial literacy programs that help entrepreneurs navigate America’s credit system and build successful businesses.
“It doesn’t matter whether you work in a restaurant, a factory, you’re an engineer or a teacher, the contributions of immigrants are everywhere,” says Archana, whose journey of immigrating to multiple countries and becoming a financial advocate for small business owners from diverse backgrounds in America mirrors the resilience she witnesses in those she serves.
Archana’s story begins in India. Born in the southern region of the country, she moved with her family to New Delhi at a young age. Later, the family relocated to Dubai for her father’s job. “Everywhere I’ve lived, I’ve seen the crucial role ‘outsiders’ play in the economy,” Archana reflects. Her time in Dubai particularly opened her eyes to the contributions of international workers, observing how Indian expatriates like her father helped shape the UAE’s economic landscape.
For the last eight years, Archana has worked in financial services, specializing in small business credit solutions. “I create better solutions for people who are credit invisible,” Archana explains. “It doesn’t matter where you come from—lack of access to credit is a huge barrier, and people need to wait exceedingly long to get financial support.” Her commitment to financial literacy stems partly from witnessing financial planning challenges within her own family. “I’ve seen in my own family how they hadn’t paid lots of attention to financial planning and how it’s affected them,” she shares. “Emotionally it is draining—unplanned debt, using up savings, and culturally, having to depend on children or other family members.”
Today, Archana’s work focuses on helping people from historically underserved communities start their own small businesses–and a great number happen to be immigrants and refugees. According to the American Immigration Council’s report “New Americans in The United States,” there are approximately 3.9 million immigrant entrepreneurs in the country, making up 23.6% of all entrepreneurs in the United States. The Migration Policy Institute also notes that foreign-born individuals start businesses at higher rates than U.S.-born individuals, and that more than 40% of Fortune 500 companies have been founded by immigrants.
Through her work, Archana addresses one of the biggest challenges that small business owners–foreign and U.S.-born alike– face: navigating the American credit system. “The concept of credit itself is alien to people who were not born in the U.S. but also to many people who were born in the U.S,” she explains. “Here, everything revolves around credit—it’s needed not just to be an entrepreneur but to buy or rent a house, get a car, and purchase insurance. For immigrants, understanding when and how to seek business loans or credit can be particularly daunting. Many newcomers aren’t familiar with the variety of financial institutions available to them, such as banks and credit unions, or lack knowledge about building business credit strategically.
Additionally, language barriers and cultural differences create extra hurdles. “[Some of us] come from cultures where we are not used to borrowing money,” she says. “It’s always been about working hard, building savings, and then using all of that to build your life. But here, you need to borrow and repay.” Archana’s deep understanding of diverse cultural perspectives has allowed her to create a culturally competent and informative financial literacy program that benefits Americans and immigrants from various backgrounds alike. The program addresses critical knowledge gaps about credit building and responsible financial planning.
One success story Archana shares involves a Kenyan woman who had been in the U.S. for nine years. Despite being well-integrated with steady employment, she dreamed of starting a business importing and selling goods from Kenya. After attending Archana’s sessions on creating business plans, identifying customers, marketing, and funding options, the entrepreneur recently launched her website. Beyond practical knowledge, the woman also benefited from the community aspect of Archana’s program. Central to these sessions, Archana shares, is creating a space where business leaders from local communities and different walks of life can gather in a round-table format with the participants. “Participants have opportunities to interact not only with each other but also with experienced mentors,” she explains proudly, “and they gain a valuable network of contacts.”
By empowering American and immigrant entrepreneurs with financial knowledge and community connections, Archana is helping maximize their economic potential, building stronger businesses that contribute to America’s diverse and dynamic economy.
