Lenddo - the company - by @alfredosahagun

LENDDO (Hong Kong based company) Leveraging technology solutions in Credit and Verification. Lenddo is the world’s first online service empowering emerging class to build their creditworthiness and access local financial services based on their online social media connection. In another words, Lenddo is a Hong Kong based start-up company, which started back in 2011 attempting to create Credit Scores based on Social Media with its corresponding character-based-user Identification System. Now recognized as the World Leader in Online Verification and Social Online Credit Scoring. The new and special feature or technology which Lenddo uses is based on its own algorithm of social authentication and scoring technology. It works differently to normal Banking Credit Scoring, not only since its online, based on Social Indicators to guarantee certain credit level, and with its own scoring and verification system to enable economically the unbanked and lower emerging classes around the world. The history of the company What they Did was Lend. Actually Lenddo´s lending history is over. And it´s whole history is extremely brief. In year 2011 its foundation with the mission objective of reinventing consumer finances with life-changing services and giving businesses the ability to create positive social influence in their environments. Its vision is "to help create an economically empowered and thriving middle class in developing countries around the world." The milestones of its further development have been: In year 2012 after its funding round, it expanded to the Americas, first in Colombia and the year later 2013 in Mexico. In this same year, it went to a second large funding round for its southeast expansion. At this point Lenddo was functioning in just 3 emerging economies countries around the world: First, Phillippines during year 2011, then Colombia in the following year 2012 and finally Mexico in year 2013. The most significant awards are: In 2014 a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneers . In 2012 at Sibos it was recognized as one of the top 15 global most innovative financial services companies. And in 2011 Lenddo was FinTech Startup Award winner. Recently they have stopped lending, last year in 2015, Lenddo has to a large extend stopped the lending function, and it now dedicates to market its intellectual property and gathered data to businesses who want to determine their customer´s trustworthiness. Today 2016 Lenddo is already active in USA, Mexico, Brasil, Colombia, Peru, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Jordan, Mongolia, South Korea, Thailand, Phillipines, Indonesia, and India. They are servicing the main emerging markets in the world. Today´s Lenddo main motto goes like this “Lenddo: Leveraging technology solutions in Credit and Verification” Its founders Back in 2011 it was founded by co-founders Jeffrey Stewart and Richard Eldridge. Jeff is the current Lenddo´s CEO and he´s a rampant entrepreneur: founder and former CEO of Mimeo, founder of Urgent Career, and of Ace Metrix where he acts as Operations SVP. Jeff Stewart is a serial entrepreneur, inventor and investor specialized in internet-enabled growth businesses. Jeff as Lenddo´s CEO Richard is current Lenddo COO, and as he describes himself he´s “A fast-track, highly motivated, team and results oriented business entrepreneur and business executive” (www.crunchbased.com). With 15 years of experience successfully launching and growing startups in the technology and outsourcing. Financing and Investment Founded in 2011. During May 2012, a year after its starting, Lenddo received its first Series A round of funding in venture capital from investors: Blumberg Capital, Omidyar Network, Accel Partners and Inovia Capital. Later on the following year 2013 with the plan of expanding its services over Southeast Asia Lenddo got an additional $6 million financing from investors: Kickstart Ventures, Toivo Annus, Skype´s founder, and Golden Gate Ventures. Nowadays, Lenddo it´s owned mostly by Philippines’ BanKO, through its renown investment and accelerator Kickstart Ventures, all partly owned by Philippines’´ Ayala Group. What they do! It has been said that “Lenddo is like Klout but for your credit rating” (techinasia.com, 2015). Remember Klout is a private company which developed an app and website created in 2008 dedicated to rank social media users in a 1 to 100 Klout Index through its own analytics algorithm to classify people´s impact. In a sense, Lenddo is using Social Media Big Data Algorithm Analysis to classify their users and clients levels of credit worthiness, very important and relevant information for an ever increasing and tech-based online marketplace and globe. As said before, Lenddo is a startup company that permits the unbanked middle and low class to build their creditworthiness and access local financial services class through the use of their online social acquaintances. By the usage of their own developed computer algorithms, The idea was initially promoted as an easier and faster option for loan granting, making credit available to emerging middle class, people who were usually denied credit by banking systems because they lacked a banking credit record or simply banking history. What made Lenddo so innovative and attractive, that it directly tackles one emerging society´s most concerning issues, it tries to solve the difficulty for first timers of getting a credit score and a first loan, particularly in the even more difficult less developed or developing countries. According to Golden Gate Ventures partner Vinnie Lauria, “there are nearly 610 million individuals in Southeast Asia” (Vinnie Lauria. Golden Gate Venture) still unbanked and unable to classify for a ordinary banking system loan. Lenddo allows borrowers to get their first credit even if the borrower doesn’t have a banking credit history, the reason is that it bases on its own scoring system based on social data online, also it offers the whole process online, making it much more readily available and dynamic. How it works? Lenddo initial Algorithm was able to gather social media data on individuals specially from the: who their friends are, how often they interact, their interests, and generate from this info a credit worthiness or trust rating score which tried to indicate the chance of pay back or of default on their loans. The algorithm has evolved; it now scans data from Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Gmail, and Yahoo accounts. Mainly its data retrieval is focused on these chief aspects—social network activity, the user's Trusted Connections, meaning character references that will vouch for the borrower, and former online financial performance, if the person was already a successful borrower or not. To request a loan you must first accumulate a minimum of 300 "LenddoScore", unit in which is measured Lenddo credit rating achieved as explained above. Competitors Companies which use social media credit ratings like Lenddo at this point are many, the most relevant are LendUp, Moven, Neo, Kabbage, and Kreditech. Nonetheless from these only Lenddo has been said to be less discriminating while some of the other according to Mother Jones article published in September 2013 they may "be discriminating against applicants who essentially appear socially undesirable." As in the article “Your Deadbeat Facebook Friends Could Cost You a Loan" in mother jones words. This entire situation may appear to be awfully potentially judgmental. Concerns David Jacobs, of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, says he is “worried about the possibility of digital redlining" this means that there would be a danger of using personal social media data to prejudge and classify consumers as not worth engaging with or of value. In any case, online credits ratings seem to have lowered the bar for obtaining a first loan. The CEO founder Jeff Stewart defends it to assess borrowers “the possibility of providing financial assistance to people who most need it outweighs the possibility of inaccuracy in credit-making decisions”. (Jeff Stewart Lendoo CEO & Cofounder). Where to go “As we processed thousands of loans, our algorithm got better,” (Anthony Noel, Tech in Asia) Lenddo business development director notes that the bad loans ratio of Lenddo was better than the microfinance bank average. Nonetheless, Lenddo business core has changed. The startup is focusing on further improving its intellectual property, the algorithm and the data analysis and its uses. Its clients aren´t just banks now. In fact, Lenddo has stooped lending money. The new areas of opportunities are Companies that are hiring because its platform helps employers quickly validate the information provided by their applicants. Online dating sites acting as a doorkeeper to ensure safe dating, or Ecommerce by directly avoiding Credit Card fraud, both for buyer and seller side can be secured, quickly check individual´s criminal record, Telecommunications companies to provide documentation and other. In 4 years of short online experience. 10.000 Applicants improving their financial inclusion in already 15 covered countries worldwide. Is this just the beginning of Lenddo?! By @alfredosahagun 7.4.16. Quotes “Lenddo is like Klout but for your credit rating” (techinasia.com, 2015) “A fast-track, highly motivated, team and results oriented business entrepreneur and business executive” on Richard Elbridge (www.crunchbased.com). “the possibility of providing financial assistance to people who most need it outweighs the possibility of inaccuracy in credit-making decisions”. (Jeff Stewart Lendoo CEO & Cofounder). “If you are Filipino, you have among your closest 150 friends those who use Lenddo.” (Jeff Stewart CEO & Founder) “As we processed thousands of loans, our algorithm got better,” (Anthony Noel, Tech in Asia). "Your Deadbeat Facebook Friends Could Cost You a Loan". (www.motherjones.com) by @alfredosahagun of @3nglishonline content creator. @englishxspanish legal translation services. @institutoidiomas online language classes