A platform called Ethex is allowing everyday people to invest in organisations that are committed to social change. Through crowdfunding, investors can choose a socially conscious organisation to invest in, with confidence that their funds are being used to help people in need. Ethex investors mostly select ethical finance companies, which help those with low or no credit scores get access to financial products, with strict measures in place to safeguard their customers.
Great Western Credit Union is one such ethical finance company, which is a co-operative, non-profit provider of ethical savings and loans in the south-west of England. As members, customers have a say in how their credit union is run. Members’ savings are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and are pooled together to provide affordable loans to people across the region. Last year, the company raised more than £1.9m via Ethex, which was an impressive 237% of its £800,000 target. All the funds raised helped to expand lending and enhance offerings to cater to the changing demands of members.
Fair for You closed its funding round on Ethex after raising 131% of its £500,000 goal. The company offers flexible, cost-effective loans for household items to underprivileged families who would have trouble accessing credit on the high street. Customers can use Soft Search to see how much they can borrow without their credit file being impacted, before choosing the product they need from one of the partner retailers and determining their repayment terms.
Salad Money is now raising funds via Ethex. It is the largest community development finance institution (CDFI) in the UK, which lends money to customers who are unable to access traditional credit products because of a non-existent or poor credit rating. Salad Money does not lend more than £1,000 to avoid thrusting its clients into debt. It integrates open banking, which enables it to gauge someone’s suitability for a loan. Thanks to open banking, Salad Money can identify if one is entitled to benefits they didn’t know about from one’s income and situation
Read the full article on Positive News here: Read More