The new regulation came from a new state body focused on regulating internet finance; it put a stop to new approvals of offline micro lending companies; companies already in operation may see heavier regulation which has caused drops in the share price of recent IPOs including ZhongAn, Ppdai and Qudian. Source
Branch CEO Matt Flannery is not new in the micro-lending lending space having previously co-founded Kiva; Flannery realized that there was much more potential in lending across the globe outside of the non-profit space; Branch has an app that uses information from the phone to score credit in places like Nigeria and Kenya; the Series B round was led by Trinity Ventures and included other big names such as Andreessen Horowitz and CreditEase Fintech investment fund; the company also secured a $50 million debt facility from Victory Park Capital. Source
Frederic Nze is the CEO and founder of Oakam, a UK micro-lender that serves the needs of immigrant communities; in...