Welab (IFC-37911)

Regions
  • East Asia and Pacific
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • China
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
FI
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Aug 4, 2017
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
WELAB HOLDINGS LIMITED
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Finance
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 10.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS Jul 25, 2018

Disclosed by Bank Feb 29, 2016

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to IFC website, the Welab is a tech-based retail lending credit cycle management service provider, operating in Hong Kong SAR and mainland China. It uses predictive data analytics and machine learning algorithm to credit score consumers who do not have an existing credit score. Welab targets to support the underserved population to obtain modest finance. Welab is raising Series B preferred equity to expand its business.

With advanced technology, Welab is able to analyze unstructured and multidimensional data in an effective way to facilitate the credit assessment of underserved populations, and make credit decisions quickly with a fully online application process, which could largely promote the access to credit services of underserved population at a lower cost.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

The company was founded by Mr. Simon Loong, a former Standard Chartered retail banker in 2013 in Hong Kong. Subsequently, the company was invested by several individual investors and venture capital funds. Currently, Mr. Simon Loong is the largest shareholder. Not a single shareholder owns more than 10% except for Mr. Simon Loong.

Financial Intermediary
A financial intermediary is a bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank. A financial intermediary then lends these funds to their clients (private actors) in the form of loans, bonds, guarantees and equity shares. Financial intermediaries include insurance, pension and equity funds. The direct financial relationship is between the development bank and the financial intermediary.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

Welab is a tech-based retail lending credit cycle management service provider, operating in Hong Kong SAR and mainland China. It uses predictive data analytics and machine learning algorithm to credit score consumers who do not have an existing credit score. Welab targets to support the underserved population to obtain modest finance. Welab is raising Series B preferred equity to expand its business.

The company was founded by Mr. Simon Loong, a former Standard Chartered retail banker in 2013 in Hong Kong. Subsequently, the company was invested by several individual investors and venture capital funds. Currently, Mr. Simon Loong is the largest shareholder. Not a single shareholder owns more than 10% except for Mr. Simon Loong.


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Project Contact: Mr. Simon Loong, Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Welab Holdings Limited, Unit 406 Office Plus, 93-103 Wing Lok Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong SAR
Contact No.: +852-91269183
Email Address: Simon.loong@welab.co
Website: http://www.welab.co

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org. You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org/

How it works

How it works