CEO and founder of Tala with AMFE, inaugurate the first annual edition of the “Digital Financial Inclusion Forum”
- Accompanied by industry experts and CONDUSEF, speakers discussed measures to balance digital access and the protection of microcredit users.
- Tala announces collaboration with CONDUSEF to support financial education campaign
- The members of the panel affirm that access to digital, transparent and agile financial tools should not be exclusive to the middle and upper classes
Mexico City, April 25, 2023 – Tala Mobile kicked off its first “Digital Financial Inclusion Forum” in Mexico. The event called, “Digital Financial Inclusion Forum: New models and the balance between access and protection”, was organized by Tala Mobile, a global financial technology company, together with the Mexican Association of Specialized Financial Entities (AMFE). Shivani Siroya, founder and CEO of Tala, was in Mexico for the start of the event.
The founder of Tala was accompanied by David Lask, General Manager of Tala Mexico, Enrique Bojorquez, President of AMFE as well as Christine Chang, Global VP of Tribal Financial. Dr. Wilfrido Perea, General Director of Financial Education of CONDUSEF, participated as a special guest.
Shivani Siroya, founder and CEO of Tala announced the company’s commitments to increase financial access to the most vulnerable segments:
- Tala Mobile will actively work with CONDUSEF to promote financial education campaigns through different media such as: Radio, TV, ads, YouTube and podcasts, delivering messages that can help Mexicans achieve financial stability, a culture of attention while promoting fraud prevention.
- Tala Mobile will continue to develop innovative technology to build more accessible financial services for the population in Mexico, and will support the evolution of the microfinance ecosystem
- Tala Mobile commits to holding annual Financial Inclusion Forums together with AMFE and other key actors in the public and private sectors
“Our experience in four emerging countries has demonstrated to us that financial education along with digital access are key to protecting the most vulnerable populations from stress and abuse.” Siroya said. “Our global impact study revealed that 76% of borrowers surveyed reported an improvement in their overall quality of life due to Tala, and 1 in 5 said it has improved significantly. 80% reported improved ability to deal with financial emergencies, 77% reported better financial management and 63% reported decreased financial stress,” she added.
“Access to transparent, agile and easily accessible digital finance is a right of everyone, not just the middle and upper classes,” Lask said, adding that Tala Mobile’s position is that financial education is a fundamental human right and that digital finance is one of the levers to promote the economic and social development of the country.
In this regard, Tala Mobile develops a series of online educational tools and resources to help its customers better understand financial products and services, as well as plan and manage their finances effectively. Their Talaneando program focuses on supporting Nenis, and has garnered more than 150,000 impressions. In addition to this, Tala Mobile makes podcasts and content on YouTube that are available for free to the general public.
For his part, Dr. Perea highlighted the importance of including financial education as part of Education for Life, which, since the reform of the Federal Education Law in 2019, CONDUSEF and SEP have worked to include from elementary and secondary school up to university level. He added that the innovative online programs that are being piloted by CONDUSEF for adolescents and young adults have exceeded expectations in terms of participation and commitment.
Tala is working closely with authorities such as CONDUSEF, as well as industry organizations such as AMFE and Prodesarrollo, to promote best practices for digital microcredit. “Experience in other markets has shown that public-private collaboration is critical to promoting a more responsible and sustainable financial culture,” Lask said.
AMFE’s Enrique Bojórquez highlighted the importance of collaboration among industry members, including financial institutions, regulators, civil society organizations and well-informed consumers. Carlos Provencioof AMFE, pointed out that the passion with which Tala and its founder carry out their activity for the benefit of the underserved population reflects the principles and the courage with which, a group of entrepreneurs, founded the AMFE in 1994 and successfully navigate in the difficult years that followed, granting specialized and segmented credit to groups of underserved consumers,. Today, at this juncture, we are committed to raising awareness about specialized digital service for underserved sectors of the population.”
As a final gesture and symbol of commitment to digital financial inclusion for all, Siroya, Lask and panel members culminated the ceremony with a donation to a group of women artisans who traveled from Oaxaca to receive the donation. The Casa de las Artesanías Tuxtepec brings together 500 artisans to formalize and streamline production and marketing. The funds will be used to continue digitization and technification of their businesses.
At the conclusion of the event, Siroya stated: “I am leaving Mexico, and the first Digital Financial Inclusion Forum, with renewed optimism regarding the willingness and commitment of our colleagues, industry organizations and authorities to promote and monitor greater digital financial inclusion for the people who need it most and deserve it.”
About Tala
Tala is a global technology company that creates the world’s most accessible financial services. Since its founding in 2015, Tala has disbursed $3.8 Billion loans for nearly eight million people in Kenya, the Philippines, Mexico and India. Customers trust the company and are proud to have a 5-star rating on Playstore with over 1 million reviews.
Tala has raised nearly $500 million in equity and debt from visionary investors, including Upstart, Stellar Enterprise Fund, RPS Ventures, J. Safra Group, IVP, Revolution Growth, Lowercase Capital and PayPal Ventures. Tala has been named to CNBC’s Fortune Impact 20, CNBC’s Disruptor 50 list three years in a row and Forbes’ Fintech 50 list for five consecutive years.
About AMFE
The Mexican Association of Specialized Financial Entities (AMFE) was founded in 1994 by the first Limited Purpose Financial Companies, a figure specialized in credit, based on Chapter XIV of NAFTA. Since its inception, the AMFE brings together the most representative Financial Institutions Specialized in Credit in the Mexican financial sector.
Press contact: Moisés Hernández moises.hernandez@touchpoinmarketing.mx
