Imfino News

SANTA MONICA, April 17, 2018 -- Tala, a global leader in mobile-first financial services for underserved consumers, announces today a $50 million Series C equity investment led by Revolution Growth. Additional participants include existing investors IVP, Data Collective, Lowercase Capital, Ribbit Capital, and Female Founders Fund. Tala has also recently raised an additional $15 million to power its loan book.

The round brings Tala’s total fundraising to more than $105 million. Steve Murray, managing partner at Revolution Growth, will join Tala’s board of directors.

Tala uses a combination of Android and behavioral data to instantly underwrite customers who have little or no formal credit history. Anyone with an Android smartphone in Tala’s markets can download the Tala app, apply for a loan, and receive an instant decision. Tala disburses loans between $10 and $500 USD to a mobile wallet or via payment rails of the customer’s choosing. More than 85% of Tala’s customers receive credit in less than 10 minutes.

The new investment will power the growth of Tala’s consumer lending app in Mexico and India, two of the world’s largest emerging markets with a combined financially underserved population estimated in the hundreds of millions. Tala already operates in Kenya, Tanzania, and the Philippines, where it has delivered credit to more than 1.3 million customers and originated more than $300 million. 2017 loan origination and revenue more than quadrupled over the previous year.

“We are excited about how Tala is using mobile devices and data-science to unlock this huge unmet opportunity and serve a market that is underserved by traditional financial institutions,” said Steve Murray, Managing Partner at Revolution Growth. “Under Shivani’s vision and leadership, the company has grown to become one of the leading mobile-first lenders in emerging markets and is enabling millions of customers with no credit history to start businesses and participate in the global economy.”

“With more than 3 billion underserved consumers globally, Tala’s ultimate aim is to deliver meaningful products and services that build radical trust with our customers and put more people in control of their financial lives,” said Tala’s founder and CEO Shivani Siroya. “We are excited to bring our globally proven, customer-driven platform to additional markets where there is high demand for consumer credit and a significant underserved population. We couldn’t ask for a better partner in Revolution, who shares our dedication to bringing investment and opportunity to underserved communities. We are thrilled to welcome Steve Murray to our phenomenal team of investors and advisors as Tala enters this next phase of growth.”

Tala has more than 215 employees across offices in Santa Monica, Nairobi, Dar Es Salaam, Manila, Mexico City, Mumbai, and Bangalore. In March, Tala added a new VP of Market Growth, Anay Shah, formerly an early employee at Remitly, where he helped launch 11 new markets as Head of Partnerships and ran growth for their largest market as Regional Director. In addition to Siroya and Shah, Tala’s leadership includes Chief Data Officer Kevin Novak, formerly Head of Data Science at Uber; CTO Johnny Lee, whose previous company was sold to Apple in 2014; and VP of Credit Gaurav Bhargava, who led analytical and product teams to develop infrastructure focused on digital banking at Capital One.

About Tala

Tala is the leading mobile technology and data science company committed to financial inclusion globally. More than 1.3 million people have borrowed through Tala’s smartphone app, which provides instant credit scoring, lending, and other personalized financial services in emerging markets. Tala has raised more than $105 million from leading venture and impact investors including Revolution, IVP, Ribbit Capital, Data Collective, and Lowercase Capital. Tala is headquartered in Santa Monica with additional offices in Nairobi, Manila, Dar Es Salaam, Mexico City, Mumbai, and Bangalore.