Tala Unlocks $30 Million Funding For A Micro-Loan App

Shivani Siroya, Founder Tala a smartphone app for raising micro-loans have raised $30 million in its Series B of funding. Based in Santa Monica , CA, this firm allows anyone to raise a micro-loan or assess the potential of a project depending on the range of data, shared in the mobile app.
 

Shiroya’s work stems from the belief that our data lives on the phone. She started with lending her own capital to people in India , Ghana, Mexico and Mali who were looking for microloans. Around 50 people borrowed $20,000, ranging from $500 to $5000. Then she received her first round of funding for $300,000 from four different investors.
 

Her app asks 8 questions when you download it. Based on which it offers you scores and loans. They work 24/7 and received requests for loans even at 2:00 AM in the morning. The cash is essentially transferred into their mobile wallets.
 

Shiroya’s knowledge is built on rock solid data from the real world. During her masters master's in public health from Columbia University. She then spent two and a half years on the ground in West and Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, working for the United Nations' Population Fund on a project aimed at understanding the effects of microfinance on entrepreneurs in developing economies. She says, “According to the World Bank There are 2.5 billion people around the world who are underserved and there’s a $31 trillion unmet need for credit”. With the recent funding newer areas in South Asia and Latin America.