The Creditinfo Chronicle
Players of the Month – May 2016
Creditinfo sponsor Kyiv International FC who play every weekend in the Ukrainian amateur football league with 24 other teams. The league will run until October. Our team is currently in the top 8, still getting used to playing on a big pitch. Like Creditinfo, the team is truly international: The players come from Brazil, Cuba, US, Spain, France, Ukraine, Italy, Nigeria, Morocco, Egypt, Kuwait and Iceland. Jon Johannesson, CEO of our office in Ukraine is the goalkeeper (pictured 3rd from the right in the back row). Continue reading »
Creditinfo Academy – Introduction to Social Media by Andrius Cepkus
We were very pleased to welcome Andrius Cepkus from Lithuania. Andrius is a very talented serial entrepreneur with skills in social media. Check him out on Linked In https://lt.linkedin.com/in/cepkus he kindly delivered an interesting introduction to Social Media and advised why he felt it was critical to business. Continue reading »
What do our latest interns think of Creditinfo?
Creditinfo regularly host interns at many of their offices worldwide. Recently, 3 interns worked for Creditinfo Malta and Creditinfo International. Find out how they found their experience working for Creditinfo and in a foreign country.
Risk Challenge Micro 2016: Micromarkets. Macroscopes
The first specialized forum for microfinance organizations the Risk Challenge Micro 2016: Micromarkets. Macroscopes took place in Almaty on the May 15, 2016. The forum was organized by the First Credit Bureau with support of “Damu” Entrepreneurship Development Fund” JSC, National Chamber of Entrepreneurs “Atameken”, Akimat of Almaty, Kazakhstan Association of FinTech organizations (specialized association for Internet-lenders) and others partners.
Utilities ‘sign on’ to Share Data with Creditinfo Guyana Credit Bureau
All of the Guyana’s commercial banks, as well as some major state and non-state service entities, have now signed on as data providers to Creditinfo Guyana Credit Bureau, a development which has created an enabling environment in which larger numbers of persons can, potentially, secure hassle-free and in many instances, badly needed credit.
Creditinfo Localises Credit Scoring, Cites High Credit Card Usage
Jamaica’s loan market was valued at $544 billion throughout the banking system at the end of 2015. Credit-card transactions in that year topped $212 billion. It reflected an annual increase of 10.6 per cent in the value of transactions, while volumes rose 13.5 per cent to 14.7 million transactions, according to Central Bank data.
From May 2016, Creditinfo Jamaica will now provide localised credit scores. Previously, although Creditinfo Jamaica provided access to credit scores since October 2013, the score offered then was based on an expert model. Simply put, the model used then was based on certain features from another market with vast similarities to Jamaica. The localisation of credit scores typically requires nine to 18 months of consecutive data and a rigorous assessment process. The localised score model will help both consumers and lenders as it is more predictable than the expert model and therefore affords a better decision process for subscribers.
Microfinance: Lending Small, Thinking Big
In this video, (click link below) ‘Real Economy’ looks at the world of microfinance in a European market that tends to be dominated by traditional banks. It looks at the world of microcredit in Romania to see how small loans and a little financial training can make a difference.
Also looking at how the model is adapting with technology to the needs of people and businesses in western Europe who can no longer tap into traditional credit from banks. The European Investment Fund (EIF) advise about how best to use microfinance in a search for sustainable employment and growth.
http://www.euronews.com/2016/04/04/microfinance-lending-small-thinking-big/
The next Rembrandt – Data and How we Use It
We use a lot of data to improve business life but we haven’t been using data that much in a way that it touches the soul. It is not just a bunch of information and numbers, it is something beautiful where you can make great stuff out of it.
In following inter
esting video you can see how a group of analysts recreate a painting of Rembrandt using technology and data. They start by gathering the data, followed by determining the subject, afterwards they generate the features and in the end they bring it to life. The result is amazing and stunning, if you wouldn’t know it was made with technology you would think it is a real one.
Check out the link because it has to be said, it is amazing what analysts
are doing and can do with data.
More fond farewells and changes
This month has seen a few changes in the Creditinfo family.
Eyjólfur Eyjólfsson from Credit Bureau Expansion and Nataliya Soldatyuk from Creditinfo Solutions have now left us to follow other avenues. Nataliya is now working in the UK for FICO so we are sure our paths will continue to cross in the future.
These recent appointments and changes come in response to the continued growth and development the company has seen in recent months and the experience of these new appointments will be invaluable in enabling us to offer an even higher level of service for all of our valued clients.
Welcome to John Roberts in the Creditinfo Team!
As Regional Director in Asia & The Middle East
John Roberts has joined the Creditinfo Group as Regional Director Asia & The Middle East. With a background spanning more than 30 years of business and leadership experience, John’s career embraces the communications and marketing sectors, and most recently, the financial industry in New Zealand and internationally.
Another Welcome to Steven Kunyiha In the Creditinfo Team!
We would like to welcome Steven Kunyiha who will join Creditinfo Kenya as CEO.
Having worked for more than a decade for Transunion, as Chief Executive Officer, and prior to that as Group Head for Collection 
Africa Limited, Steven has amassed a wealth of experience in the credit industry. Steven will be ultimately responsible for all day-to-day man
agement decisions and for implementing the Company’s long and short term plans. Steven will be responsible for driving Creditinfo Kenya to the next level, building on the solid foundation and momentum achieved by the team under Daniel Kanyi’s leadership.
We would also like to extend our thanks and best wishes to Daniel and wish him continued success in all that he does in the future.
Creditinfo Academy
A 2 Day classroom based workshops in Kenya and Tanzania on Fraud Risk Management by Nolan Williams
We are pleased to again introduce Nolan Williams from The Risk Consultancy (who gave a webinar last month).
Nolan will be delivering a 2 day workshop in Kenya and Tanzania on Fraud Risk Management.
Nolan is experienced in the design and implementation of fraud risk management frameworks and training programs. He is recognized as an Operational Risk Management expert and speaker at international events.
- Tanzania – 26th and 27th of May 2016 at the Ledger Plaza-Bahari Beach Hotel in Dar es Salaam.
- Kenya – 30th and 31st of May 2016 at the Southern Sun Mayfair Hotel, Parklands Rd in Nairobi.
Key Findings from the World Bank
The World Bank gave some key findings at the BNM-IFC Credit Infrastructure conference
The World Bank Group gave some interesting key findings during the conference in Kuala Lumpur where Paul spoke on the 4th of April. The key findings are related to the positive relationship between access to finance and job growth.
Key Findings:
- Increased access to finance results in increased job growth in developing countries
- Firms with access to a loan exhibit employment growth between 1 and 3 percentage points larger than firms with no access to finance
- Introduction of credit bureaus (CBs) increases employment growth by over 5 percentage points compared to countries where CBs do not exist
- Association between finance and job growth is stronger among MSMEs than among large firms
- MSME firms with access to a loan have between a 1 and 4 percentage point larger employment growth than MSMEs without a loan
- Introduction of CBs elicits a job growth response among MSMEs that is over six times larger than that among large firms
Click on the link below to see more detailed pages of the Key Findings
http://creditinfochronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/CRINFRA2016_Pre-Session_Mahesh-Tony.pdf
Or visit the World Bank’s Website for more info
http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/financialsector/brief/credit-infrastructure
Paul Randall Speaking
Paul Randall spoke at BNM-IFC Credit Infrastructure conference in Kuala Lumpur
In April, Paul Randall spoke at the BNM-IFC Credit Infrastructure conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He gave a presentation about the role and impact of developing and -or strengthening credit reporting systems. At the conference, Paul gave, for more than 100 attendees, his thoughts and ideas about the role and impact of developing and/or strengthening credit reporting systems. He gave insights based on real business cases related to the expected versus impact development and impacts on the financial sector after the implementation of successful credit reporting systems. The other themes covered during the conference were credit reporting, credit registry, secured transaction, insolvency 7 creditor rights, as well as other current issues. You can find his presentation and all the other presentations via the link below.
If you would like to see all the presentations click on the link below.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ic4ka73b65iv9nk/AACA_RgwAjpBIUNI7ZCwLvRDa?dl=0
New name for Czech Republic
After 27 years the Czech President, Prime Minister and the other top country officials have finally agreed that not having a one word name for the country and using Czech Republic instead is too long. They asked the United Nations to officially recognize “Czechia” as an alternative country name. Together with this demand they also asked it for other foreign-language equivalents, such as la Tchéquie in French. So, they finally took the name which existed already in the 18th century and made it a one word name for the country. Now we can call them “Czechia” in casual communication!
