Tala is a global technology company building the world’s most accessible financial services. Shivani Siroya is the founder and CEO of Tala, the leading financial technology company in emerging markets.
More than 6 million people across Kenya, the Philippines, Mexico, and India have used Tala products since it was founded in 2011.
Tala is headquartered in Santa Monica with additional offices in Nairobi, Manila, Mexico City, and Bangalore.
The beneficiaries have used the loans to start and expand small businesses, manage day-to-day needs, and pursue their financial goals with confidence.
The customers use Tala’s smartphone app, which provides instant, personalized credit to underserved customers in East Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
It is backed by leading ventures and impact investors, including PayPal, Revolution, IVP, Ribbit Capital, Data Collective, and Lowercase Capital.
Tala has managed to raise more than $350 million from these visionary investors.
The credit score is based on daily-life data from their smartphones.
Tala also acts as a lender, granting loans between $10 and $500 USD to a mobile wallet.
To date, it has granted more than $225M in microloans.
Why Shivani Siroya Founded Tala
In a past interview, Siroya said she started the digital app to serve people in underserved and emerging markets.
She explained that there are billions of people who are negatively covered by credit bureaus, and their needs are not catered for.
While working for the UN Population Fund, Siroya noted that there were hardworking people all over the world who couldn’t access a loan because they lacked a financial identity.
“What really compelled me to solve this problem was the fact that only about 30% of the adult population worldwide is covered by a credit bureau. It made me realize that there are billions of people around the world who are not even seen and don’t even have an identity. That felt really wrong,” she said.
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Jobs Before Becoming Tala CEO
Prior to founding Tala, Shivani held a variety of positions in global health, microfinance, and investment banking.
She has served as Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum since January 2016 to date.
Between August 2008 and December 2009, she worked as a Financial Consultant at Corporate Strategy and M&A.
She worked as an Analyst at Citigroup from September 2008 and December 2009 before moving to the United Nations Population Fund in the same position.
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Early Career & Education
Besides, she was a Consultant/Analyst at Janani/ Vanthasali through Columbia University Earth Institute in 2007.
Shivani Siraya started her career as an Analyst at Credit Suisse in June 2002 before joining UBS Financial Services in June 2004 as an Analyst, Equity Research.
She also worked as an Associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers from January 2005 to December 2005.
She holds an MPH and BA in Econometrics and Quantitative and Health Economics from Columbia University and Wesleyan University, respectively.
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