Barbados-based P2P platform reaches B$50m lending milestone
Carilend – the Caribbean’s first peer-to-peer lending platform – has approved more than B$50m (£17.86m) to borrowers in the four years since the company was founded.
The Barbados-based firm now has more than 16,000 registered users, and more than B$23m has been repaid from borrowers to lenders.
Its lenders have received average returns of 8.32 per cent, and more than B$3m has been paid out in interest to investors since the company was founded in 2017.
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“We are very proud to have reached this major milestone in just over four years of operations,” said Mark Young, chief executive of Carilend.
“It took two years to approve the first B$10m and only another two years to get to B$50m.
“I am especially proud to make this announcement given the challenges faced over the past year. We saw the Carilend business model hold strong throughout the lockdowns and beyond. There was no major disruption to our operations and no significant increase in defaults.
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“In addition, not a cent was lost by any lenders due to our robust Reserve Fund. All defaulted loan payments were paid in full from the Reserve Fund, and the fund has continued to grow over the last year.”
The speed at which the platform has reached its $50m milestone indicates the appetite for P2P lending in the Caribbean, Young added.
“Word is spreading quickly about our excellent service, and I am excited about how we will continue to disrupt the borrowing and investing market in the Caribbean in the coming years,” he said.
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