What was the Affordable Credit Challenge?
The Affordable Credit Challenge supported partnerships between UK community lenders and fintechs developing innovative technological solutions that increased access to affordable, responsible credit. It was backed by HM Treasury and delivered by Nesta Challenges.
We awarded development grants of between £125,000 and £150,000 to six community lender/fintech partnerships. From these, we selected three winning partnerships in Spring 2020 and each of these received cash prizes of at least £200,000.
Why did we run the Challenge?
Most of us rely on borrowing of one form or another, whether loans, credit card debt or mortgages. But the inability to access fair and affordable credit is a challenge faced by millions of people across the UK.
Credit unions, CDFIs and other community lenders offer an affordable alternative to high cost credit, such as payday loans. They comprise a significant market, making over £1 billion worth of loans annually and serving almost 2 million people. However, they compete with high cost credit providers with more resources and better access to technology. This means they can struggle to reach and serve all those who could benefit from their services.
Meanwhile, the UK’s world class fintech sector continues to flourish, challenging traditional business models in banking, payments, personal investing and small business lending to better serve customers.
We believe a better personal lending market is possible – with affordable credit available to more of those who need it – through combining the values and reach of the community lending sector with the insights and capabilities of fintech businesses.
What were we looking for?
The ultimate objective of the Challenge was to widen people’s access to responsible, affordable credit provided by community lenders. To help achieve this, the Challenge supported partnerships between community lenders and fintechs who are working together to use technology to address challenges or opportunities faced by community lenders. The Challenge supported a range of different solutions that demonstrate how technology can help achieve this goal.
The finalists in the Affordable Credit Challenge
Final outcomes
The team
Chris Gorst
Challenges Director
Isobel Scott-Barrett
Assistant Programme Manager
Shae Harmon
Communications Manager
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Chris Gorst
Challenges Director
Areas of expertise: Accessing justice, Affordable Credit Challenge, Artificial intelligence, Better markets, Disruptive Tech, Economics, Financial inclusion, Fintech, Governments and innovation, Government innovation, Innovation policy, Legal Access Challenge, Markets, Open banking, Open Up Challenge
Chris’s experience spans the public, commercial and social impact sectors and interactions between the three. He started his career in supply side policy and public finance at HM Treasury. In the commercial sector he has worked as a strategy consultant and in investment banking. In social impact, he has delivered a major capacity-building programme for UK small business leaders and developed impact measurement strategies for a wide range of non-profits.
In his spare time Chris is a keen (but green) Python coder. He is a volunteer mentor for the Year Here programme, which encourages talented graduates to develop innovative solutions to entrenched social challenges.
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Isobel Scott-Barrett
Assistant Programme Manager
Pronouns: She/Her
Areas of expertise: Affordable Credit Challenge, Legal Access Challenge, Challenge Prizes, Better Markets, Political Economy, Conflict Mediation, Inclusive Peacebuilding, Programme design and management
Isobel is an Assistant Programme Manager, focusing on the Affordable Credit Challenge, Legal Access Challenge and CareerTech Challenge Prize.
Prior to Nesta, Isobel worked in political conflict mediation in the Middle East. She developed and delivered dialogue programmes which worked with political and religious leaderships, the SME community and civil society.
In a past life Isobel was was a domestic violence caseworker in Southwark and a winemaker in Lebanon. Outside work, she likes to cook, throw pots and plan long walks.
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Shae Harmon
Communications Manager
Pronouns: They/Them
As Communications Manager for Nesta Challenges, Shannon works across all themes centre-wide. Shannon aims to encourage more people to enter our prizes through digital engagement.
Shannon’s background is in digital content, marketing and campaign management for several science charities and health publications, including SciDev.Net and the Wellcome Trust, focusing on developing user-friendly content and design for website and social media.
Shannon has extensive social media, product management, design and editorial skills and a proven track record of tailoring content to different platforms, delivering complex strategies and projects.
In their spare time, they have also been involved in organising events for the local LGBTQI+ community for the past seven years, and in 2016 founded a campaign fighting for the rights of non-EU immigrant workers.