MPower Financing with Manu Smadja | E306

Fintech Impact

Jason talks to Manu Smadja, CEO and Co-Founder of MPower Financing. MPower Financing is a company that specialises in lending loan to international students because they have their own specific challenges that are encountered by many people who come to a foreign country.

Episode Highlights:

• 02:30: Manu elaborates on his realization about the ongoing challenges faced by international students, citing personal experiences, and the turning point a decade ago when a student approached him for financial help, sparking the idea for MPower.
• 03:13: Manu shares the pivotal moment when a student was on the verge of dropping out due to a small financial shortfall. This event led him to question why no one was addressing this issue and motivated him to establish Empower in April 2014.
• 05:40: Jason discusses the challenges of issuing loans to young people with no credit history or assets, and Manu emphasizes the need for alternative data sources.
• 07:11: Manu discusses the complexity of acquiring customers overseas and the challenge of servicing loans globally, which has been a focus for their company.
• 13:09: Manu highlights the importance of character, creditworthiness, and the proof of capability demonstrated during the selection and integration process for international students.
• 14:09: Manu explains how MPower leverages data on placement rates, graduation rates, and post-graduation salaries as part of their compelling value proposition.
• 18:32: Manu compares the traditional loan process to MPower's approach, emphasizing the company's role in making the market for students who can't secure loans locally and providing a better experience for those who can.
• 25:27: Manu emphasizes that the impact on students helps the team stay motivated and focused on understanding and addressing the needs of the students.

Key Points:

1. A leader in international student financing, MPower Financing focuses on empowering students from 200 countries attending over 400 universities in the US and Canada.
2. The company's mission is to address the unique financial obstacles encountered by students studying abroad.
3. MPower Financing leverages alternative data for credit assessment, providing loans to international students who may face challenges securing loans in their home countries.

Tweetable Quotes:

• "Leveraging data on placement rates, graduation, and post-grad salaries, MPower Financing ensures a compelling value proposition for students worldwide.”
• "MPower Financing was born out of the realization that small financial shortfalls were pushing international students to drop out. We aim to bridge these gaps and make education accessible."
• "In lending to international students, we challenge the misnomer of treating no-file students like bad-file ones. Credit is a trajectory, and we leverage alternative data to understand and support their unique journeys."

Resources Mentioned:

• https://www.mpowerfinancing.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/esmadja/
• Facebook – Jason Pereira's Facebook
• LinkedIn – Jason Pereira's LinkedIn
• Woodgate.com – Sponsor
• Podcast Editing

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