Mobile lender Tala says closure of Tanzania operations is ‘temporary’

By Steve Umidha

Mobile-based online lending firm Tala has refuted claims that it is shutting down its operations in Tanzania.

“Tala Tanzania has not made a decision to permanently close operations. However, after piloting our credit product in Tanzania, we have paused our lending operations and are undertaking a review of our operations to determine our path forward in the market,” said the digital lender in a statement Tuesday.

Tala however said it remained a mission-driven global company “that has impacted over 4 million individuals with over $1 billion in disbursed loans. We are actively working to continue to support financial access in Tanzania.”

“We regret to inform you that Tala is currently not offering loans in Tanzania. We appreciate the opportunity to serve you, and we wish our loyal customers continued success in your financial journeys,” read an earlier statement issued by the company.

“Our operations in Kenya continue uninterrupted as Kenya is a critical part of our global business. We are continuing to evolve our product to meet the needs of our 3 million customers here and are also piloting some exciting new offerings in financial education and coaching,” continued the statement.

Tala, which currently operates in Kenya, Mexico, India and Philippines, provides fast personalized loans to approved borrowers mainly self-employed as no collateral is required, attracting over 27 million people around the globe.