Bloom Team

The Mastercard Foundation is helping expand access to finance across Africa by deploying credit capital through partnerships with financial institutions, governments, and development organizations. This article explores how the Foundation’s financing approach supports small businesses, young entrepreneurs, and underserved communities while strengthening local lending ecosystems across multiple markets.

Artificial intelligence is changing how lenders assess credit risk by analyzing large volumes of data faster and more accurately than traditional scoring models. But while AI can improve decision-making, it is not without limitations. This article explores how AI credit scoring works, the data it relies on, where it delivers the most value, and the challenges lenders must address to ensure fair, transparent, and reliable lending decisions.

Credit unions in 2026 need more than basic loan tracking tools. They require flexible loan management platforms that support member onboarding, automated underwriting, repayments, collections, compliance, and integrations with core banking and payment systems. In this article, we explore some of the best loan management platforms for credit unions, comparing their features, scalability, and suitability for different lending operations and member-focused financial services.