Kieran Donnelly joins emerging markets fintech company as board advisor

ID Finance, the emerging markets fintech company, has strengthened its board with the appointment of Kieran Donnelly, ex-CEO of, 4finance, as a board advisor. The appointment will support ID Finance as it continues rapid expansion and further diversification of its business.

Kieran Donnelly served as CEO at 4finance, the European online and mobile consumer lending group for three years. He brings over 30 years of management experience to ID Finance having also held senior roles at Standard Bank Group, MDM Bank and Renaissance Group.

“Kieran brings a very strong understanding of this space and what it takes to be a leader in alternative lending. He also brings a wealth of experience in both developed and emerging markets. We’re confident he will help us to take ID Finance to the next level in terms of global expansion,” comments Boris Batine, co-founder and CEO at ID Finance.

ID Finance group is a rapidly growing data science, credit scoring and digital finance provider. The company was established in 2012 and now operates in Spain, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Poland, Russia, Brazil and Mexico. It now has over 3.8 million registered customers and has so far issued more than 1.1 million loans worth USD 300 million.

“I’ve been extremely impressed by the integrity of ID Finance’s leadership team, who bring exceptional attention to detail as well as a fascinating vision for the business,” comments Kieran Donnelly, board advisor at ID Finance. “Their track record to date is also testament to their ability to execute to plan.”

ID Finance moved its headquarters to Barcelona last year and now has over 400 staff spread across offices in Spain, Georgia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Poland, Brazil and Mexico. It saw 92% revenue growth in the first nine months of 2017 following continued diversification across products and its successful expansion into the Brazilian and Mexican online lending markets. It is now issuing over 60,000 loans each month with monthly revenue of $15m.

According to Goldman Sachs, Brazil has an estimated revenue pool of $24 billion for fintech companies over the next 10 years, with payments, lending and personal finance the most promising segments. Meanwhile fintech startup Finnovista believes that fintech startups could take up to 30 per cent of Mexico’s banking market in the next decade.

“There’s a huge opportunity for alternative lending in underserved markets such as Brazil and Mexico,” continues Kieran Donnelly. “These are incredibly exciting markets for the digital finance sector.”