Tala, a US-based provider of microfinancing in emerging markets, attracted $110m yesterday in a series D round featuring digital payment technology producer PayPal.
The round was led by venture capital firm RPS Ventures and included IVP, Revolution Growth, Lowercase Capital, Data Collective and Thomvest Ventures. Tala said it has also secured $100m in debt financing over the past year, including a $50m facility led by Colchis Capital Management that will support its lending.
Founded in 2011, Tala offers financing services including microloans, credit scoring and financial coaching through a mobile app used by more than 2 million people in developing markets.
Customers can seek loans ranging from $10 to $500 and will often receive a decision within 10 minutes thanks to the app’s data science-powered assessment technology, facilitating financing for those without formal credit histories.
Tala has so far loaned more than $1bn at a 90% repayment rate and claims to have become Kenya’s largest non-bank lender. It provides financial education at its physical offices for customers who have difficulty using the product.
A person familiar with the matter told TechCrunch the round valued Tala at more than $750m, and the capital will support the company’s expansion plans. It will add new employees in India as part of a recruitment drive that will take in offices in Kenya, Mexico, the Philippines and California.
The series D proceeds will also help augment Tala’s product range with additional financial coaching-oriented services. The company has now received more than $200m in equity funding.
PayPal invested an undisclosed amount in Tala in October 2018, adding to a series C round that stood at $50m as of six months earlier.
Revolution Growth led the $50m first close, investing with IVP, DCVC, Lowercase Capital, Ribbit Capital and Female Founders Fund. It was raised together with $15m in debt financing.
Tala had already received $30m in an early 2017 series B round led by IVP and backed by the rest of the series C investors in addition to Collaborative Fund.
GV, a subsidiary of internet and technology group Alphabet, took part in a $10m series A round for Tala in 2015 that was led by Collaborative Fund and backed by Lowercase Capital and Mesa Ventures. The company had secured $1.2m in a 2013 round that inclued GV and Lowercase.