LA-based mobile technology and data science lending startup Tala has has raised more than $30 million in Series B financing, led by IVP and joined by Ribbit Capital. Additional participants include existing investors Lowercase Capital, Data Collective, Collaborative Fund and Female Founders Fund (F3).
Tala currently operates in East Africa and Southeast Asia, where it focuses on improving financial access for individuals in the emerging middle class that are leading creditworthy lives outside of the formal economic sector.
Tala’s mobile app for Android aggregates more than 10,000 different data points on a customer’s device, including financial transactions, savings, network diversity, and geographic patterns, and builds a customised credit score, or financial identity. Credit is disbursed directly to customers’ mobile money accounts in less than 5 minutes, and customers repay their loans directly from the app.
The company has disbursed more than one million loans totaling over $50 million in origination and more than one million individuals have accessed the product.
Jules Maltz, general partner, IVP, says: "By using smartphone data to build financial identity, Tala is pioneering a new model that can reach more than two billion people globally who have been underserved by traditional finance companies."
The new round of funding will be used to accelerate product development, expand into new markets, and build the company's internal team says Shivani Siroya, founder and CEO.
“With this new round and team of phenomenal investors and advisors, we are positioned to connect millions of underserved people to financial services that can advance their lives," he says.