Tala enables people to take loans regardless of their financial history, evaluating their loan applications using non-traditional data.

Traditional private credit bureaus are estimated to cover only 32% of the global adult population, making it difficult for many people to apply for loans through traditional banks. Using non-traditional data for evaluating people through their Android app, Tala is able to cover an extra 3 billion people that are currently not able to receive a loan.

By giving Tala access to their telephone data, the consumers get evaluated through the app based on data such as phone usage, receipts, and transactions within texts on the phone. Tala tries to maintain a fair and ethical evaluation algorithm and does therefore not use information such as gender or language. Over 85% of Tala’s loan applicants are approved within 10 minutes of their application for loans ranging from $10 to $500. Tala has originated over $600 million in loans to over 2.5 million customers around the world.

Tala is currently available to users in five countries across three continents: Kenya, Tanzania, Philippines, Mexico, and India. PayPal has recently made an investment in Tala, allowing the company to further develop the app and the service.

Tala enables financial inclusion regardless of factors such as gender. In developing countries, women are 20% less likely to have access to traditional banking service. To be able to open up a bank account, women are often required to provide a male signature.