Lenddo Provides Loans For Consumers In Emerging Markets
Need a quick loan to buys some books for school? In the U.S., such loans aren't that hard to secure. But in emerging countries like the Philippines or Brazil, these loans can be a headache for middle class consumers, says Jeff Stewart, cofounder and CEO of Lenddo. Often times, these countries don't have the infrastructure to provide student or housing loans, Stewart says. Customers typically wait hours in a local bank to speak to a loan rep, fill out applications on carbon forms and then wait weeks to find out whether they were approved. If they aren't, these college educated consumers--which are typically accountants, call center employees or computer programmers-- are often at the mercy of local loan sharks, Stewart says. "These people are the emerging middle class," says Stewart. "They work, they have jobs and they have some level of education but there's no real credit history on them. They couldn’t go to a bank."
