About Carilend

Carilend is the first Peer to Peer lending site in the Caribbean aiming to bring together Borrowers and Lenders to give a better deal and a better experience to both.

We match Borrowers who need a loan with investors who want to be Lenders. By cutting out the middleman, we cut out the costs and pass on these savings in the form of better rates to both Borrowers and Lenders.

Our model is based on the UK Peer to Peer lending industry that has been operating successfully since 2005. This model brings the best technology, the best operating standards and the best customer experience from the UK to the Caribbean.

We are launching first in Barbados, but we plan to bring this approach to the wider Caribbean as soon as possible.

Why Did We Start

When we looked around the Caribbean at investing and borrowing money, we wanted to bring great options, fantastic customer experiences and very efficient processes for everyone. Whether consumers are investing their money to see it grow or are at a point where they need to borrow in order to achieve their goals and dreams, Caribbean consumers deserve great service, individual pricing and more choice.

We searched globally for the most admired, technologically enabled way to revolutionise this experience. We learned about the exponential growth and the wonderful customer experience of Peer to Peer lending around the globe. We examined the many variations and models and quickly decided we would build our business on the principles and processes used in the UK, which have become recognised globally as the best run and most admired.

Now we are delivering that great customer convenience and experience, greater choice and better pricing for all to the Caribbean.

Peer-to-peer lending is the practice of lending money to individuals or businesses through online services that match lenders directly with borrowers.

Meet the Directors & Founders

Mark Young

CEO, Director & Co-Founder

Mark had a 25-year career with Barclays and CIBC FirstCaribbean including 18 years in the Caribbean during which he headed both their Corporate Banking and Wealth Management businesses across 17 Caribbean countries. Before co-founding Carilend, he was the CEO of a private international bank based in Barbados.

Mark Linehan

Director & Co-Founder

Mark is the Managing Director and a co-founder of Williams Offices (Caribbean) Limited, the largest Regus franchise partner in the Caribbean. Prior to forming Williams Offices, Mark held a number of senior positions with Digicel over a 14 year period and played an instrumental role in the development and success of Digicel across the Caribbean.

Kailash Pardasani

Director

Kailash is the Owner CEO of Promotech Inc. and HP Store Barbados, two leading B2B and B2C Technology companies in Barbados, serving the Caribbean region. As a passionate and successful serial entrepreneur, he is also engaged in several real estate developments, distribution, sports, and hospitality (restaurant) businesses.

Adam Harris

Director

Adam is the Vice President of Strategic Investments at VM Financial Group, leading its expansion in Jamaica and the region through inorganic growth. Before joining VM Group in 2019, the same year Carilend became an Associate Company, Adam held senior leadership roles in Jamaica's gaming, entertainment, automotive, and financial services sectors.

Peter Reid

Director

Peter holds the title of CEO for the Building Society Operation. He is a career Banker with over 30 years experience in the financial services sector with expertise in sales and management, credit, financial analysis, financial advisory and deal structuring. Before VM, he was a District Vice President for the Bank of Nova Scotia Jamaica Ltd.

Meet the Barbados Team

Jade Worme

Lender Relations and Marketing Manager

Charlene Phillips

Accountant

Tammy Bryan

Customer Service Representative

Natalie Best

Customer Service and Loan Processing Specialist

Rachel Corbin

Customer Service and Loan Processing Specialist

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About Carilend

Carilend is the FinTech company that has revolutionized borrowing and lending in the Caribbean providing fully online lending services. Their first success was the introduction of a Peer to Peer Lending service in Barbados, the phenomenon that has swept the globe and is now a billion-dollar industry in the U.K., U.S. and Canada. Peer to Peer Lending connects people that have money to Lend with people who want to Borrow money in a secure online marketplace. Carilend, which is headquartered in Barbados, is the first of its kind in the region, signalling a new way of borrowing and lending in the Caribbean.

Carilend was founded in 2015 by the coming together of two seasoned industry executives one from the telecoms arena, Mark Linehan and the other from the banking arena, Mark Young. Carilend is led by Mark Young, CEO, with a 25-year track record as a regional senior executive with Barclays and CIBC in the Caribbean.

About VMIL

Victoria Mutual Investments Limited (VMIL) is incorporated and domiciled in Jamaica. VMIL was incorporated in 1984 as the corporate financing arm of Victoria Mutual Building Society (VMBS) and is 80% owned by VMBS, which is incorporated in Jamaica under the Building Societies Act. In 2017, 20% of VMIL was offered to Members, Clients and the Public by way of an Initial Public Offering (IPO), to facilitate corporate lending and investing to support well-run Jamaican businesses. The company raised $690 million and now trades on the Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE).

VMIL offers a wide range of products and services including margin loans, insurance premium financing, lease financing, underwriting services and corporate loans managed by the financial experts on the VM Wealth Management team.

In September 2019, VM acquired a 30% stake in Carilend Caribbean Holdings Limited. Two VM executives currently sit on the Carilend Board of Directors.

Why Did We Start

When we looked around the Caribbean at investing and borrowing money, we wanted to bring great options, fantastic customer experiences and very efficient processes for everyone. Whether consumers are investing their money to see it grow or are at a point where they need to borrow in order to achieve their goals and dreams, Caribbean consumers deserve great service, individual pricing and more choice.

We searched globally for the most admired, technologically enabled way to revolutionise this experience. We learned about the exponential growth and the wonderful customer experience of Peer to Peer lending around the globe. We examined the many variations and models and quickly decided we would build our business on the principles and processes used in the UK, which have become recognised globally as the best run and most admired.

Now we are delivering that great customer convenience and experience, greater choice and better pricing for all to the Caribbean.