Branch International Inc., “a mobile-based microfinance institution for the world,” reportedly has launched in Kenya. Branch operates as a cloud-based microfinance institution, allowing users access to credit up to USD 20 to users of Android-based phones in Kenya. The service does not take deposits or offer any in-person transactions. Branch makes creditworthiness decisions by analyzing prospective borrowers’ social and transactional history from their phones via apps such as M-Pesa, a mobile money service developed by UK-based telecom company Vodafone, and Facebook, a US-based social media platform. This history includes information such as daily spending habits, outstanding loans, deposits and social connections.
Matt Flannery, a former CEO of Kiva, a US-based nonprofit crowdfunding organization that raises money for microfinance institutions (MFIs), is the creator of this service. As of 2015, Branch has raised USD 1.4 million in seed funding from US-based Formation 8 and the India-based Khosla Impact Fund.
Branch is expected to expand to offer this service worldwide.
By Makai McClintock, Research Associate
About Kiva:
Kiva is a US-based, nonprofit online portal that was established in San Francisco in 2005. It allows individuals to make loans to microfinance institutions (MFIs) to backfill loans that the MFIs have made to low-income borrowers. In 2012, Kiva launched a pilot platform, Kiva Zip, enabling users to lend directly to microentrepreneurs in Kenya and the United States. From 2005 through mid-2014, Kiva has raised funds for loans totaling USD 587 million that have been disbursed by 269 MFIs and similar organizations in 77 countries.
Sources and Additional Resources:
Wall Street Journal Article: “Former Kiva.org CEO Brings New App, a ‘Branchless Bank’ to Kenya,” http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2015/05/07/former-kiva-org-ceo-brings-new-app-a-branchless-bank-to-kenya/?mg=blogs-wsj&url=http%253A%252F%252Fblogs.wsj.com%252Fventurecapital%252F2015%252F05%252F07%252Fformer-kiva-org-ceo-brings-new-app-a-branchless-bank-to-kenya
MicroCapital Universe Profile: Kiva
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