Cignifi

Cignifi Inc. operates a big data analytics platform focused on generating credit and marketing scores for individuals with limited or no formal credit history, primarily in emerging markets. Founded in 2010 by Jonathan Hakim, the company is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with additional offices in São Paulo, Mexico City, and Accra, Ghana. Hakim, serving as President and CEO, leads the company with a background in data analytics and financial services, aiming to address the challenges of financial inclusion for the unbanked and underbanked populations.

The core of Cignifi's business is its proprietary platform that analyzes anonymized mobile phone usage data to assess creditworthiness. By processing billions of call data records, the system identifies patterns in phone calls, text messages, and data usage to build predictive behavioral models. These models generate risk scores, which predict the likelihood of default, and response scores, indicating the probability of a consumer using specific financial products. This service is particularly valuable as it requires as little as four weeks of a user's calling history to generate a score, without accessing the content of communications or location data to protect privacy.

Cignifi's business model is B2B, serving a clientele that includes mobile network operators, banks, insurers, and retailers. The company provides these institutions with qualified leads for financial products such as credit cards, personal loans, and insurance, thereby lowering customer acquisition costs. This enables financial service providers to reach and underwrite loans for a vast market segment of middle- and low-income consumers previously considered invisible due to a lack of traditional credit data. The platform facilitates opportunities for services like airtime credit, cash loans, and handset financing. Since its inception, Cignifi has raised approximately $11.3 million in funding over 10 rounds from investors including Omidyar Network, American Express Ventures, and LeapFrog Investments.

Keywords: credit scoring, financial analytics, big data, mobile data analytics, financial inclusion, emerging markets, alternative credit data, risk management, fintech, data monetization, mobile network operators, consumer finance, microcredit, behavioral modeling, predictive analytics, unbanked, underbanked, loan underwriting, marketing scores, financial services