Published: May 22, 2026
When Tala won CNBC’s World’s Top FinTech award in 2025, it was not a fluke. It was a repeat.
The digital lender secured the top spot for the second year in a row, beating out more than 2,000 fintech firms from across the globe. CNBC and Statista ran the numbers. They applied a scoring system that balanced broad metrics at 40% and specific performance indicators at 60%. Only 250 companies made the final cut. Tala sat at the very top.
A Kenyan Story with Global Reach
Annstella Mumbi is the General Manager for Tala in Kenya. She put it simply: “Being named CNBC’s Top FinTech again is a tremendous honor and a powerful validation of our mission.” Then she added a line that cuts to the heart of what Tala actually does. “This is proof that serving a population nobody else has dared to serve creates significant impact and financial value.”
That population? People who need small loans — often very small — but have no credit history, no formal bank account, and no collateral. Traditional banks would not touch them. Tala built an app and said yes.
The Numbers That Back Up the Hype
Since it launched in 2011, Tala has disbursed more than $6 billion in loans. That money has reached over 11 million customers across East Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. Kenya remains one of its most important markets.
Here is the number that makes traditional bankers scratch their heads: a 95% repayment rate. Tala says that figure proves serving underserved populations at scale is not charity. It is good business.
How Do They Do It?
Machine learning. Tala’s models are trained on billions of data points collected over a decade of customer relationships across multiple countries. The company has deep insights into a population that most financial institutions simply ignore.
“Winning this award again highlights our continued efforts to promote financial literacy, deliver reliable products, and cultivate strategic partnerships that strengthen local ecosystems,” Mumbi said.
A Quick Look Back (and Forward)
The award was announced in July 2025. Since then, Tala has continued expanding. The fintech space in Kenya has gotten more crowded, with newer players like LemFi and others chasing the same underserved customers. But Tala had a head start — over a decade of it — and back-to-back global awards do not hurt either.
For the millions of Kenyans who have borrowed a few thousand shillings from Tala to buy inventory, pay school fees, or cover an emergency, the award is just a trophy on a shelf. What matters is that the app works, the money shows up, and they can keep building their lives one small loan at a time.
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