How Tala mobile has promoted microfinance in Kenya

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About Tala Mobile and Kenyan Microfinance

Tala, formerly known as Inventure, is an international credit services company that avails cheap loans to low-income earning individuals and communities. They give them quick low interest mobile loans. Currently Tala has a presence in Kenya, Tanzania and the Philippines.

The Tala loan app is the platform where the consumers of the credit products access services. The only requirement to access these services is an android smart phone or iPhone which is compatible with the Tala app.

How to use TALA

You need to download the Tala Loan App and register as a customer. You also need a Safaricom Mpesa number in order to access loans from Tala.

When you register, the app will collect some data in the mobile device. The information will be used to calculate a client’s creditworthiness. The administrators will now come up with a loan limit and interest rate for you.

A Tala customer is advised to give the app time after installation. This is because most customers do not qualify for a loan the first day they apply. Therefore if this happens, keep checking the app so as to know if you qualify for a loan.

Tala has helped many entrepreneurs access loans in order to fund their business or as seed capital for their startups. It may be tasking to go to the bank to request a loan due to the paperwork and procedures involved.

Loan Features

Loan is disbursed within minutes to your Mpesa account.

Maximum loan amount one can get is Sh50000.

Interest rate is flexible and depends on customer credit store

Repayment duration depends on the amount borrowed. The period can vary form a week to a month.

Steps

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Tala mobile has helped in the growth of many microfinance businesses which would have otherwise sunk into bankruptcy. Others have been set up due to financing through Tala Mobile loans.

65-year-old Jennifer who runs a food service in Nairobi could not access traditional credit because she had no credit history. California-based Tala Mobile founder Shivani Siroya told Forbes that they availed loans to Jennifer without taking her through rigorous processes. All that Jennifer had to do is to answer eight to ten questions.

Having acquired the loans she was able to open a little food store. She later took out thirty more loans with Tala and was able to open two more stalls with the loans.

Shivani, talking about Jennifer said that, “She’s opened two additional food stalls and because we reported her information to the credit bureau, she was able to get a traditional bank loan at a financial institution. She got approved for a small business loan and she’s looking at opening her own restaurant.”

A customer who wants loans has to really answer questions that touch on the business. The questions range from references to daily lives. They also consider the daily data points that administrators get from a customer’s cell phone.

The Indian-born owner says that they usually collect information from a person’s cell phone so as to ensure there is consistency and verification of identity.

When you download the app and answer eight questions, the cash is sent directly into the person’s mobile wallet. You will get the money when you answer questions that revolve around demographic and location data.

Siroya divulged that 85 per cent of customers get the cash in their wallet in two minutes.

Review Rating

I rate Tala Mobile 7/10

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How Tala mobile has promoted microfinance in Kenya

Tala, formerly known as Inventure, is an international credit services company that avails cheap loans to low-income earning individuals and communities. They give them quick low interest mobile loans. Currently Tala has a presence in Kenya, Tanzania and the Philippines.

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