Welcome to a new episode of Fintech Mavericks! 🎙️ This time, we’re diving into what it really takes to build financial infrastructure for billions at venture scale.
Hosted by Nicole Casperson and Drew Glover, this episode features Shivani Siroya, Founder & CEO of Tala. Shivani has raised nearly $500M to build a financial system that serves the global majority, and Tala has now disbursed $6B+ in credit to 11M customers across Kenya, the Philippines, Mexico, and India.
She shares how 3,500 on-the-ground interviews informed Tala’s underwriting, why listening first beats “move fast” dogma, and how AI plus proprietary, real-time data can reduce bias and expand access. We also get into distribution at scale (think 750,000+ cash-in/cash-out points), tailoring credit down to the individual (choose-your-own due dates and terms), and what founders get wrong about building for emerging markets.
If you care about financial inclusion, durable unit economics, or building category-defining infrastructure, this episode is packed with insights you won’t find anywhere else.
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Follow the hosts:
🔹 Nicole Casperson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-casperson-0820a5133
🔹 Drew Glover: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewbailerglover/
