German startup Kreditech, a German startup aiming to become “the Amazon for consumer-finance”, has entered the Russian market.
It offers micro loans to consumers and also provides a credit rating service for enterprise customers. The startup’s founders Sebastian Diemer, Alexander Graubner-Müller and Felix Haas believe that their algorithm, which processes over 8,000 data points in real time in order to generate a credit score, sets them apart from other micro-finance startups.
Their move into Russia (and into other emerging markets including Poland, Czech Republic and Mexico) is made much easier by the fact that they don’t require any external credit bureau data to generate their credit ratings. Instead their algorithm is based purely on globally available data sources including social networks and e-commerce records.
The company recently raised $15 million from Kreos Capital, which it will spend on developing more consumer-focused finance products and further expansion, starting with Australia, Peru and Brazil.