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Article: Start-Up Aims To Facilitate Loans With a Global Reach; D.C. Trio Hopes to Aid Poor, Rural Communities
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- October 1, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 The Washington Post. This material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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After graduating from college in May, Benjamin Lyon came to the
District to delve into the mobile currency industry that has
sprouted in poor, rural communities in the Philippines and Kenya.
Upon arriving, Lyon, 22, along with Scott England and Mark
Oppenneer, founded a start-up company called CreditSMS. It develops
software for microfinanciers to deliver and track loans to people in
poor, rural communities via text messages.
"We're looking at a global project for microfinanciers," Lyon
said. "We're getting there."
They didn't have much money to start the project. But through an
announcement he saw on Twitter, Lyon thought he had found an ideal
resource for the needed capital.
The National ...