CONSUMER FINTECH RAISES $145M IN FRESH FUNDS

Consumer finance technology firm Tala—which operates in emerging markets, including the Philippines—has raised $145 million in fresh capital to become a leading global financial platform for the unbanked.

Tala’s series E fund-raising was led by Upstart, with participation from the Stellar Development Foundation. New investors included Kindred Ventures and the J. Safra Group, along with existing investors such as IVP, Revolution Growth, Lowercase Capital and PayPal Ventures.

This equity deal, which will fuel the rollout of Tala’s new mobile-first account services and crypto solutions for emerging markets, brought its total funding to more than $350 million.

Series E funding is typically done by a start-up that has reached a certain stage of maturity, such as one that is ripe for an initial public offering, to fund further growth and boost valuation.

“Tala has spent the past seven years delivering critical and valued services in markets where the financial system is fundamentally broken for millions of people,” said Shivani

Siroya, Tala founder and chief executive officer.

“This new investment will accelerate our path to becoming the primary financial account for the global underbanked and helping millions more people make progress in their financial lives,” she said.

Since launching in Nairobi in 2014, Tala has delivered more than $2.7 billion in credit to more than six million customers. More than 12,000 new users sign up for Tala services every day.

In the Philippines, Tala has served 1.6 million Filipino borrowers.