One-third of the world’s population, 2.5 billion people, have no credit score that might give them access to loans. But about a billion people in the developing world do have basic smartphones.

And for many of those people, that phone is their only computer and communication device. So it can be particularly useful but also personally revealing.

Now some start-ups are emerging to exploit the opportunities and manage the problems that this creates.

Tala, for example, culls data from cellphones to gauge a person’s ability and willingness to repay loans. To its founder and chief executive, Shivani Siroya, the cellphone number is an entry point to help bolster the “emerging middle class” in countries like Kenya, the Philippines and Tanzania by giving them access to credit…

Read the Rest of this Story @ The New York Times: Where Cellphones Are Lifelines, Start-Ups Spy Opportunities