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Fair For You has been considering for some time how to provide small amounts of credit that would alleviate the food poverty experienced by lower income families during school holidays. This requires us to find effective ways of pro- viding small amounts of credit for a freezer food shop with flexible weekly payments, mirroring the solution we have devel- oped for other essentials.
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to develop their solutions with non-fi - nancial assistance such as networking events and legal support. The Nesta judging panel then chose three Prize winners with a forward-looking judge- ment, taking into account process achieved by the partnerships during the challenge. Joanna Elson OBE, CEO of Money Advice Trust, and chair of the Affordable Credit Challenge judging panel, said: “There is a huge need for affordable credit, and we know that technology can help credit unions and others to both reach people who need it and provide the kind of service that mainstream financial institutions offer. The panel was really impressed by all the finalists - and we’re looking forward to seeing the results of these exciting partnerships.” Nesta Challenges uses challenge prizes to stimulate innovative solutions to some of the biggest challenges we face. Challenge prizes are a simple but powerful idea. A problem or opportunity is identified, the challenge is publicised and rewards are offered to those who
can deliver the best solutions. Over 8 million people in the UK use credit to pay for everyday household expenses, and many of them struggle to access fair, affordable credit. 82% think more needs to be done to ensure there are alternatives to high-cost lenders, and Fair For You’s idea aims to do this by easing financial pressure in low income families brought on by school holidays, when there is a spike in the use of high cost short term credit and foodbanks. Chris Gorst, Head of Better Markets at Nesta Challenges, said: “The three winning partnerships are great exam - ples of how technology can remove some of the barriers that currently prevent community lenders widening access to affordable and fair credit. Social lenders haven’t historically been able to compete with high-cost alterna- tives on speed or reach and uniting with fintechs addresses this issue. As these partnerships are becoming a reality, I believe we will see the beginning of a transformation in the personal lending market to support those who need it most.”
- Angela Clements
CEO of Fair For You
The Social Impact of Fair For You A 2016 report looked at the differ- ences that Fair for You is making to the lives of its customers.
Read the report
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