Dr. Dganit Biederman is the founder and CEO of Citizen Impact, a PollyLabs portfolio company. Citizen Impact provides financial institutions with an AI-powered platform that helps prevent households from falling into debt while improving their creditworthiness, transforming the traditional debt collection process into an opportunity for financial recovery and growth. We met with Dganit to learn more about her inspiring journey as a founder. From earning her doctorate in social inequalities, to leading youth-at-risk programs at the Ministry of Education, to founding her own NGO, to deciding to build a company that will partner with banks to move the needle on financial empowerment at scale.
What lead you to start Citizen Impact?
I earned my doctorate 22 years ago, researching social inequalities. Since then, I’ve been applying my work across various roles—working in government, overseeing youth at risk at the Ministry of Education, in regional governments, and heading committees on social issues. About 10 years ago, the Poverty Report published by the Latet organization came out revealing that one in three children in Israel was going hungry. That was a turning point for me. I decided to leave my position in government and start a nonprofit focused on working directly with people in poverty. We built programs to support them on their journey to financial resilience and recovery.
Seeing the incredible results firsthand, I realized that coming out of poverty is possible—it's not inevitable. All it takes is the right program and support.
Three years ago, I decided to take things further by founding a tech company to scale up our impact. We developed a platform that helps households improve their financial resilience and creditworthiness by reducing their financial risk.
What does Citizen Impact look like today?
Citizen Impact provides a technology platform and services to financial institutions, enabling them to reduce the risk of their clients falling into debt and to improve their creditworthiness.
We launched a highly successful pilot with Ogen, a leading financial inclusion non profit, backed by public grants, and saw 80% of the people we worked with increase their disposable income by up to 20%. We also reduced deficits, and 70% of individuals who were previously ineligible for loans became eligible after going through our program.
These results sparked conversations with financial institutions both in Israel and internationally, opening up exciting opportunities.
What’s the secret sauce behind Citizen Impact?
Our platform uses a proprietary AI model that automatically identifies a household’s likelihood of success in overcoming financial distress. It then designs personalized plans from over 200 possible variations, addressing four key areas we’ve found essential for transformation: personal finances, resource utilization, mental health, and employment. Once the plan is in place, our service helps households implement it step by step. What sets us apart is our ability to look beyond financial data—we consider personal outlook, motivations, and other factors to ensure success.
While we provide automated recommendations, we go the extra mile by supporting customers all the way through to a stronger financial standing, with the bank recognizing their improved credit capability.
What did the first days of Citizen Impact look like?
Back when I was running my nonprofit, one of our donors asked why, if our model was working so well, we didn’t take it further and build a technology that could help prevent poverty on a larger scale—reaching not just hundreds, but thousands globally.
After thinking it over, it made perfect sense. I brought on my co-founder, Ynon, and together we decided to build a company with a mission to revolutionize the financial industry. Instead of a bank leading people into lawsuits when they fall into financial distress, we wanted to build a solution for the banks and households that could truly change lives.
Where are you now, and where do you see Citizen Impact in five years?
We’re currently closing a SAFE, and by March 2025, we plan to launch our Series A. The company is already thriving here in Israel, and we’ve proven our approach works. The next step is to bring our solution to the world. In five years, I hope to reach 50,000 families, with a focus on expanding into the U.S. and Latin America.
How do you see the role of technology in addressing social problems, and are there any risks?
I’m thrilled to be building a social impact company that leverages technology and is deeply rooted in data. Technology allows us to scale and achieve broader impact. However, I don’t believe the process should be entirely automated. Human connection is crucial. Our team acts like a customer success team, offering support, answering questions, and building trust, which is a key part of our product’s success. In fact, 93% of our customers recently expressed satisfaction with our process.
What challenges have you faced in building your company? What’s the hardest part of your work?
Fundraising remains a key challenge. Investors often have a hard time seeing the business potential in a mission-driven company like ours, compared to more traditional startups. But I’m proud that our investors believe in our business model, and I hope it sets a new precedent for how social enterprises are viewed.
Managing everything—both for myself and the team. I love being involved in all aspects of the business, but as we grow, juggling all the moving pieces becomes more challenging.
If you could change one thing to make your mission easier, what would it be?
I’d love to see more collaboration around tackling social inequalities. Specifically, I wish to see more financial institutions who see themselves as key players in enabling change, offering a helping hand to families in distress rather than pushing them further into hardship. Most people don’t want to be in these situations—they’ve just lost their way at some point.
How has working with PollyLabs been helpful?
Working with PollyLabs has provided me with invaluable trust and support, along with access to new potential partners and resources that are significantly helping accelerate our development. The team’s backing has allowed us to focus on innovation and scale our impact more effectively.
What’s your North Star as an entrepreneur?
My father grew up in poverty but went on to become the CEO of a factory and build a good life. From the age of 10, I knew my life mission would be to help others achieve the same—having someone who believes in them and gives them the opportunity to realize their potential. In the end, I see myself as a messenger helping people find their place in the world.
What about your proudest accomplishment?
Seeing how we can transform a family’s financial reality in just three months and give them back hope and belief in themselves—it’s incredibly rewarding and something I’m immensely proud of.
What advice do you have for aspiring social impact founders?
Be prepared for a long journey. Stay focused on your mission and believe in it along the way. And most importantly, build a strong business plan that shows investors you’re not just creating a nonprofit—you’re building a viable business.
Thank you very much to Dganit for graciously speaking with us and sharing her journey and inspirations behind founding a mission-driven startup. To learn more about re+connect, visit their LinkedIn & their website.
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