creditworthiness

‘This is not our customer...’ 

That was the common justification banks used to deny loans to the entrepreneurs Shivani Siroya supported through her work with the United Nations. While it’s not unusual for a tech startup to raise millions before ever launching a product, small business owners across the globe are all-too-often deemed unworthy of even just a few hundred dollars by traditional financial institutions.  

In 2011, Shivani set out to change this at scale. Her company, Tala, has since disbursed more than $3 billion in microloans across India, Kenya, Mexico, and the Philippines. Borrowers simply answer a few questions on a mobile app and — within minutes — they have access to capital. What’s more is that the vast majority of the Tala’s loans are repaid, even with such a frictionless vetting process. 

This week on How I Built This Lab, Shivani talks with Guy about the lightbulb moments that drove the creation of this vital credit solution and its potential to uplift entire national economies. 

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Most people know that you need a good credit score to be able to borrow money, but how to start building one up is a bit of a mystery. Money Clinic listener Emma, 22, has never been in debt before, apart from her student loans. However, she has heard that getting a credit card could increase her chances of being able to take out a mortgage in the future. Before she applies for one, what does she need to consider? Plus, if your credit score isn’t great, how can you improve it and why is this worth doing? Claer Barrett, Money Clinic presenter and the FT’s consumer editor, scrutinises Emma’s credit score, with help from Katie Watts, a consumer expert at moneysavingexpert.com and debt adviser Sara Williams, who runs a blog called The Debt Camel (@debtcamel on Twitter and Instagram). Together, they explain the hidden world of credit scores, credit files and tips on how to use credit responsibly. 

Want more?

This free-to-read FT article How to Improve Your Credit Score includes lots more tips and pointers:

https://www.ft.com/content/24b2df98-2bae-11e9-9222-7024d72222bc

If you would like to be a guest on a future episode of Money Clinic, email us at money@ft.com or send Claer a DM on social media — she’s @ClaerB on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. 

Presented by Claer Barrett. Produced by Persis Love. Our executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design is by Breen Turner, with original music from Metaphor Music

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For a long time, people have been warning that corporate debt could be the major source of vulnerability in today's economy. And the market meltdown that we've been seeing since the beginning of March could make those fears a reality. On this week's podcast, we speak with frequent Odd Lots guest Chris White of Viable Markets, on how the extreme search for yield in recent years, combined with massive issuance of debt, combined with the idiosyncrasies of the corporate debt market, could be a setup primed for disaster.

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