LendMN
It will be fascinating to watch LendMN develop as the effects of Covid-19 lessen. Founder Anar Chinbaatar’s big idea was to build a digital payday lender that could approve and disburse a loan in minutes. When LendMN opened for business in 2017, issuing small, unsecured loans, that process generally took most traditional Mongolian lenders several days to do.
Chinbaatar built the firm to last and to grow quickly. In its first 18 months, it issued 600,000 loans with an average size of $90. It had no branches, which cut costs and helped it to survive during the pandemic. Its success also forced the nation’s big lenders to get serious about digital innovation.
Will it survive as a solo operator? More than one bank chief that Asiamoney spoke to in November dismissed the idea. “It will be bought by one of the big banks,” said one seasoned banker. Perhaps – but then most pure-play digital banks are built to be bought.
LendMN, run by CEO Boldbaatar Ochirsuren, is a formidable operator that carefully layers new services on top of strong foundations.