Mongolia’s Untapped Lending Market Has Earned This Japanese-Backed Fintech Startup A $30M Valuation

Friday, October 13, 2017

In Mongolia, where the average monthly income is $390, informal loans between friends or family members are commonplace as credit and small bank loans are hard to get. On the other hand, small informal loans are almost expected to not be paid back.

“There is no leverage system for people to repay, so in the worst case they lose their friends,” says Anar Chinbaatar, 35, CEO of fintech startup AND Global.

He and two friends cofounded the company in 2015 after, one day out for a smoke, he finally got tired of friends asking to borrow money from him. His startup, which launched the mobile app LendMN, introduced mobile-based microlending to the North Asian country where borrowers are blacklisted from significant financial services such as mortgages if they default on a small loan from the bank.

But the lending industry is fractured, and AND — meaning “friend” in Mongolian — wants to work toward accessibility, transparency and accountability in microlending, the CEO says.

Photo courtesy of Mags’ pics for everyone.

Source: Forbes (link opens in a new window)

Categories
Finance
Tags
fintech, lending, startups