In this episode of the LendAPI Partner Podcast, host Rutger van Faassen sits down with Georgina Merhom, the founder and CEO of SOLO. Georgina shares her journey from running a lending company in Egypt to solving critical data challenges in the global lending sector by founding SOLO. This discussion gets into the origin, vision, and unique approach SOLO brings to customer data management.
Key Topics Discussed:
Solving real pain points: Georgina talks about experiencing inefficiencies with customer data collection in her first lending business, leading her to launch SOLO to address these industry-wide challenges.
Data reusability & efficiency: SOLO focuses on enabling the reuse of customer data across multiple products, departments, and even institutions—streamlining onboarding, origination, and underwriting processes.
Integration and workflow: The platform integrates at points of customer interaction, resolving information gaps by leveraging what’s already known, and engaging customers only when necessary.
Reducing friction: SOLO’s “single source of truth” approach eliminates redundancy, making customer experiences smoother both within and across financial institutions.
Collaborative innovation: Georgina describes how customer and partner feedback has directly influenced SOLO’s roadmap, including the creation of new network-driven solutions.
Network effects: The SOLO network connects lenders and partners to reduce duplicative costs and enhance verification processes, benefitting everyone involved.
Customer impact stories: From customer accolades (“With SOLO, hard takes a day and impossible takes a week!”) to real-world efficiency gains, SOLO’s value is validated in day-to-day client success.
Industry vision: The episode highlights how putting customer needs first and fostering collaboration are key to building financial technology that works for everyone.
Georgina’s experience exemplifies the power of solving genuine problems, listening to customers, and continuously adapting your product to evolving market needs. The SOLO story demonstrates that innovation and partnership can reshape lending for the better.
