Fair for You, the social lender behind Iceland Foods’ microloans scheme, has made a new appointment to its executive board.
Ali Chaudhry, chief customer officer at Argos Financial Services, has joined the not for profit as non-executive board director.
Fair for You provides families who would otherwise struggle to access conventional finance with credit. It provides affordable loans and prepaid cards, as well as the ability to purchase products such as tumble dryers, dog beds or laptops via its website from its network of suppliers.
In the grocery sector, it’s most notable for its partnership with Iceland, which sees Fair For You provide low-interest loans in the form of prepaid cards for customers to spend in Iceland stores. The innovative scheme was launched by the supermarket in August 2022, in response to the soaring rates of food inflation during the cost of living crisis.
In figures released just before Christmas, Iceland hailed the impact of the initiative, which it said had helped provide £7.2m in loans to 28,000 Iceland customers since it launched.
Chaudhry, who has over 25 years’ experience working in various retail-focused financial roles, including at New Day and Barclaycard, joins Fair for You at a time when it is targeting further growth.
“I am impressed at the impact Fair for You has already achieved for households across the UK,” Chaudhry said.
“I very much share its core belief that by providing access to affordable credit, we can ensure families avoid hardship and poverty, and have the chance to be healthy, happy and in control of their finances. As such I am delighted to join Fair For You’s board at a pivotal moment in the organisation’s growth,” Chaudry added.
Fair for You CEO Simon Dukes hailed Chaudhry’s “expertise” as an “invaluable addition” to the board.
“We are delighted to welcome him to the team at the start of what we hope will be a transformational year,” he said. “Already in 2024 we have raised more than £400,000 through a bond offering on ethical investment platform Ethex, which remains open for a few more weeks, which will enable us to leverage in commercial investment to fuel various exciting plans for growth.”
No comments yet