Tala Mobile comes up with a novel micro financing concept
The company uses cell phones for conducting its credit business. Tala mobile is a relatively new company based in Santa Monica, America.
The four year old company was the brainchild of 33 year old Shivani Siroya. It offers loans micro loans in Tanzania, Kenya and the Philippines.
In order to assess the creditworthiness of potential borrowers, Tala mobile uses a smartphone app which is downloaded onto the cell phones of its clients. With the help of this simple smartphone app, Tala mobile gains access to a wide range of data concerning their would-be client.
Tala is able to gauge the support system and the network of the client. It also lets Tala know where the applicant is going, whom they are calling, and whether they pay all their utility bills on time.
This is very important because the personal habits of a person provide a more comprehensive insight into his / her monetary practices. When the application is approved, the borrower can have the money downloaded onto their smartphones within minutes.
The average loan is 50 dollars and carried interest rate of 11%. Tala’s repayment rate is extremely good – around 90%. The company has provided loans to around one hundred and fifty thousand people amounting to twenty million dollars. Last year, the company posted revenue of 1.5 million dollars and recorded a profit of 500 grands. Read more >>
