Tala

Tala

Tala’s aim is to bring credit to the 3 billion people around the globe who lack access to basic financial services. It does so by providing micro loans ranging from $10 to $500 to underserved entrepreneurs and consumers via Tala’s mobile app.

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Anyone with a smartphone in Tala’s markets can apply for a loan and receive an instant decision, regardless of their financial history. To verify a user’s identity and assess creditworthiness, Tala reviews social connections, texts and calls, merchant transactions, app usage, and personal identifiers which serve as a proxy for traditional financial data. Approved borrowers receive fast, personalized loans and over time are able to build a digital credit history.

Tala founder and CEO Shivani Siroya started her company in 2011 after two-and-a-half years doing field research for the United Nations Population Fund on the impact of microfinance on entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Based in Santa Monica, California, Tala currently operates in Kenya, the Philippines, Mexico, India and the U.S.