Global fintech platform TALA welcomes its new General Manager, Donald Evangelista, whose expertise in data-driven innovation, business strategy, and digital transformation will be integral to the company’s mission of bringing financial freedom and inclusivity to more Filipinos, specifically the underbanked.
Evangelista’s experience in the fields of Data Science, Customer Intelligence, Information Management, and Big Data have placed him at an opportune time to explore and expand the 1.8-million-strong and counting Filipino borrowers who have been using TALA’s accessible, safe, and flexible financing services. “We’re excited and anticipating the explosion of blockchain and crypto to provide the backbone of our infrastructure that can further elevate our mission of financial inclusion,” Evangelista said.
“We foresee this as an enabler for Tala to provide more financial services to our existing customers at lower fees with higher returns for them. We’re taking the expertise we’ve built through the years to offer more products and services to more underbanked customers in our current and future markets,” he added.
With more than seven years of experience, TALA has given financial access to more than 6 million people worldwide with over $2.7 billion in credit.
The company’s pioneering use of alternative data, which recognizes the creditworthiness of a borrower in a way that traditional lending does not or cannot, has resulted in an over 90 percent global repayment rate.
TALA’s 95 percent repeat customer rate affirms the trust and value customers see with its long relationship with the firm beyond the first loan.
One innovation that is breaking ground is TALA Loans Your Way, which is designed to respond to the unique financial obstacles that Filipino borrowers regularly encounter. TALA app users can experience flexibility when it comes to the terms of their loans. They can choose their loan due date according to their next payday cycle or other financial obligations, allowing them to repay with ease and confidence. The punctual payment of loans also increases a TALA app user’s credit score, allowing them to reapply for bigger loan amounts.
“The typical TALA customer is a working mom who’s using credit to pay for household goods for her family or to support a small side hustle. Under typical loan products which have a fixed term, her repayment date would have fallen at an inconvenient time like in-between paychecks. Now with TALA, she can align her loan repayment at a more suitable time that works best for her,” Evangelista said.
Prior to assuming TALA’s General Manager post, Evangelista was part of the APAC leadership team for Bain & Company, a premier global management consulting firm where he advised top financial services firms in Asia and ANZ regions.
He was a former Country Managing Director for Nordic consulting services firms QVARTZ Analytics & BusinessMinds where he managed the data and analytics business portfolio, operations and service delivery teams for Manila and the offshore markets of Denmark, Australia and Singapore.
