Digital lending company Tala has laid off 28 employees from its customer operations team. The company said fewer loan defaults and a drop in customer support requests led to the decision.
In February 2025, Tala shared an internal memo announcing plans to cut 55 roles across its customer service and collections departments. But after reassessing its operations, Tala reduced the number of job cuts to 28 in April.
“After further analysis, we finalized the number of affected positions at 28. These layoffs happened mainly in the customer service and collections departments in March 2025,” Tala said in an email to TechCabal. “This is the final round—no more redundancies are planned.”
The company explained that more customers are now choosing and managing their loan repayment schedules based on their income. As a result, the need for customer service and recovery staff has dropped.
Tala said the layoff affects about 3% of its total workforce, suggesting the company employs close to 1,000 people.
The company promised to take care of all obligations to affected workers. This includes their final salary, a one-month payment in place of notice, a severance package worth at least 15 days of pay for every year worked, and any unused leave. Tala will also offer a one-time ex gratia payment and a certificate of service to each laid-off employee.
Changes in Borrower Behavior and Growing Competition
The layoffs reflect a shift in how people are borrowing. In Kenya, many people use digital loans to cover daily expenses rather than for business or investment. With the economy under pressure, more borrowers are choosing to reduce their debt or avoid borrowing altogether.
At the same time, competition in Kenya’s digital lending space has become tougher. Standalone lenders like Tala face strong rivals from M-Pesa-linked services, such as M-Shwari, Fuliza, and KCB-M-PESA. These services benefit from seamless integration and strong customer trust.
As of 2023, M-Shwari held 34% of the market, Fuliza had 25%, and KCB M-PESA held 15%. Tala followed closely with a 13% market share, just ahead of Branch, which held 9%.
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