From new team members to new markets, 2018 has been a year of immense growth, learning, and celebration for the global Tala team. We’re excited to share with you, our extended Tala family, our fondest memories and key milestones of the year.
January
April
Raised $65 million in financing.
Read TechCrunch’s feature story on our Series C
July
Took a stand for diversity and equity.
Opened our engineering center in India.
September
Nominated as a Wired icon by Melinda Gates
Spoke about tech and financial inclusion at the UN
Rolled out our lowest fees ever in Kenya
October
Added PayPal as a strategic investor
Took over Manila’s largest train station
Published our first impact report
Released our first team culture video
November
Launched our first in-app customer education campaign
December
Recognized in the CIO100 East Africa Awards
Relaunched our global website
Our team grew exponentially
We’re growing our credit business on 3 continents…
…while also growing our teams.
Radical Trust at scale
Our global team members developed 31
new innovations during our inaugural HACCathons…
…spoke at over 30 conferences and events globally…
…and took dozens of trips into our markets to meet our customers, and other colleagues…
….We supported 12+ nonprofits in the Greater Los Angeles Area…
…hosted 598 members of the LA community with events at our Santa Monica HQ…
…and celebrated 16 global holidays… (including International Women’s Day & the World Cup!)
… and welcomed 17 newborns globally and 14 dogs into the Santa Monica office (with more on the way!)
We also celebrated family time – we spent over 560 hours growing together through team-building and wellness events, happy hours, Lunch-And-Learns, and Ask Me Anything sessions with our CEO.
Our customers look different from place to place
But one thing is the same everywhere: access to credit helps people build the lives they want.
“I used [Tala] to invest in inventory since I’m currently setting up a 2nd pharmacy of my own. Thank you for trusting in me! — Norberto, Mexico
I used my first and second loan to pay for my son’s high school expenses and his college entrance exam. He will be the first family member to attend college and that in part is thanks to the help I have received from Tala. — Claudia, Mexico
Tala is really helpful for a single mom like me. — Michelle, Philippines
I have never met such [a] trusted credit institution like Tala. — Samy, Kenya
We are proud of our 2018, and we could not have done it without YOU. Thank you for joining us in our work to expand financial access, choice, and control for the underserved globally!
Our mission continues in 2019, with more ambitious goals for our customers and our team. Want to join our mission? We’re hiring! Visit tala.co/careers to learn more.
