FinTech: Credit scoring, Network effects, Financial literacy

Low financial literacy and financial exclusion is a crippling social problem in many countries, and the lack of adequate data-backed strategies makes it challenging for small and medium-sized financial institutions to create value in these markets. In the past, my collaborators and I have collaborated with microfinance stakeholders in the region to explore novel data-driven approaches of performing creditworthiness assessment using effective, explainable and privacy-preserving methods. Such approaches can empower microfinance institutions in lowering default rates and improving the overall sustainability of microfinance communities, while also contributing to social welfare. In more recent projects, I have partnered with a major financial literacy organization to design data-informed strategies for enhancing financial confidence and intention among learners.

Relevant projects/papers:
1. A Data-Informed Approach to Financial Literacy Enhancement Using Cognitive and Behavioral Analytics (Book Chapter in 'Big Data in Finance') 2. Assessing Peer-effects from Egocentric Borrower Networks: Evidence from an Emerging Micro-lending Community, with Tianhui Tan and Tuan Q. Phan (Under Preparation, Presented at SCECR 2018)
3. Predictive Power of Online and Offline Behavior Sequences: Evidence from a Micro-finance Context, with Rishabh Mehrotra, Tianhui Tan, and Tuan Q. Phan (Presented at ICIS 2017)
4. A Paypal For The Un-Banked: Analyzing Mobile-Based Micro-Cash Transfers in a Large Developing Economy, with Xuesong Lu, Alvaro Gonzalez Rivas, and Tuan Q. Phan (Presented at ICIS 2017)