jkurnia

25 ms·

1. 211.▲
   by jkurnia 13y ago

   That is an interesting variation on our current model: allow lenders to direct loans to specific entrepreneurs, but disable withdrawals such that the funds transfers can be classified as tax-deductible donations. We had a discussion of this
2. 212.▲
   by jkurnia 13y ago

   According to our attorney, they would not.
3. 213.▲
   by jkurnia 13y ago

   Hi elecengin, Zidisha is registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit only, and does not have a securities license. For this reason, our terms of use do not offer lenders any guarantee they will be able to withdraw repaid loan funds. Legally, Zidi
4. 214.▲
   by jkurnia 13y ago

   Hi 7Figures2Commas, It is true that the conclusion that higher interest has not led to more lending is not based on rigorous data. It is rather based on the general observation that during the past year or so, loan funding volume has not n
5. 215.▲
   by jkurnia 13y ago

   We'll look into that. Thanks again!
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   by jkurnia 13y ago

   Thanks devinmontgomery. One of our greatest challenges has been striking the right balance between making detailed information available to those who seek it, and keeping our website presentation simple and easy to understand for newcomers
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   by jkurnia 13y ago

   Thank you! Watsi was the first nonprofit at Y Combinator, and the way they have combined the best of Silicon Valley technology expertise with a charitable mission is an inspiration for all of us. Its founder, Chase, has also been incredib
8. 218.▲
   by jkurnia 13y ago

   I'm Julia, the founder of Zidisha. I'd be happy to respond to questions and comments here.
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   by jkurnia 13y ago

   Hi aw3c2, thank you for pointing that out. Our standard Wordpress account does not seem to have an option to change those links, and we've focused our web development resources so far on improving our main website rather than our blog
10. 220.▲
    by jkurnia 13y ago

    Dear all, Thanks in part to this debate, we have opted to reduce the interest Zidisha borrowers may offer to lenders. You may view the full announcement and discussion here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7558816
11. 221.▲
    Zidisha (YC W14) reduces interest rates for P2P lending to developing countries(p2p-microlending-blog.zidisha.org)

    49 points by jkurnia 13y ago|18 comments
12. 222.▲
    by jkurnia 13y ago

    Hi japhyr, As of today, we've funded 5812 loans and have 4757 registered borrowers, so the majority of loans we've funded have been first loans. That said, we have almost no registered borrowers without loans. We don't have
13. 223.▲
    by jkurnia 13y ago

    "This is a highly lucrative business." Zidisha's total revenue and operating costs are less than $10K per month. Only two people, myself and a web developer, receive a salary for working with Zidisha. (That salary is barely
14. 224.▲
    by jkurnia 13y ago

    "One other concern, your fee structure and business model seem to encourage repeat loans, how do you avoid the situation where that goes horribly wrong?" We do our best to ensure loans do not cause over-indebtedness by starting wi
15. 225.▲
    by jkurnia 13y ago

    I understand applying a fee for money transfers to both lenders and borrowers looks misleading when compared side by side in this way. These are two separate costs. The fee for lenders offsets the cost of receiving their funds via PayPal or
16. 226.▲
    by jkurnia 13y ago

    Hi modernm, I see what you mean. This is confusing because our website is programmed to display the registration fee only for applicants who have not yet had a loan disbursed. Once a loan is disbursed, the fee is paid and is no longer dis
17. 227.▲
    by jkurnia 13y ago

    Hi modernm, Thanks for commenting here. I wish you had asked for our side of the story before publishing these allegations. I agree that flat rates should be compared to flat rates. It would indeed be misleading to compare Zidisha's f
18. 228.▲
    by jkurnia 13y ago

    Hi mcherm, Thanks for sharing this. What if we were to continue to calculate interest and fees using our current flat method for the time being, but display the equivalent APR to lenders and borrowers? As a prospective lender, would this
19. 229.▲
    by jkurnia 13y ago

    This is the text we currently display in that page: You can propose any interest rate between 5% and 30%. The first 5% goes to Zidisha to cover money transfer fees, and anything above that goes to lenders. Lenders who find the proposed inte
20. 230.▲
    by jkurnia 13y ago

    Hi zaroth, This makes sense, and we are already doing some of that. In the loan application form that borrowers see, the 5% fee to Zidisha and the interest offered to lenders is in fact combined. Borrowers choose any combined rate from 5%
21. 231.▲
    by jkurnia 13y ago

    Dear all, Although I do not agree with Modern Microcredit's allegations that we are intentionally misleading, the discussion that has resulted is a useful one. As I see it, we have a several options: 1. The status quo: Continue to quot
22. 232.▲
    by jkurnia 13y ago

    I see it now. I believe the blog post author is mistaken though: the majority of the examples he provided were first loans.
23. 233.▲
    by jkurnia 13y ago

    Hi zaroth, Am I understanding correctly that you are suggesting we not use the term "interest", but instead call the amounts borrowers pay to lenders a fee? That is worth considering. It would avoid much of the confusion over fla
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    by jkurnia 13y ago

    Hi Chuck, Thanks for this comment. I'd welcome the help of MFT to develop an APR calculation tool for Zidisha loans. I've just sent you an email, and look forward to discussing further.
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    by jkurnia 13y ago

    Hi mcintyre1994, Thanks for noticing that. I am not finding the quote "And that's just for repeat borrowers (by sheer chance, none of the 20 random loans was from a first-time borrower)." in the blog post now. I did take a l
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    by jkurnia 13y ago

    Hi UweSchmidt, Yes, that is true: loans held for less time pay less, and a loan at 5% held for 2 years would pay 10% of the principal. Using flat rates instead of APR does result in loans that cost disproportionally little when held for sho
27. 237.▲
    by jkurnia 13y ago

    Hi devinmontgomery, Do you mean this page? https://www.zidisha.org/microfinance/borrow.html How would you suggest modifying this to make it more transparent?
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    by jkurnia 13y ago

    Hi rdl, It would certainly be possible to eliminate the registration fee, and make up the difference with a slightly higher recurring service fee. (We are not yet supported by any major foundations.) There are two main reasons we have not
29. 239.▲
    by jkurnia 13y ago

    Dear all, I'm the director of Zidisha, and have just posted this response to the blog post. I'd be happy to respond to questions here. Dear Modern Microcredit, I'm sorry that you found our website information misleading. I&#
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    53 Days of YC W14(launch.co)

    2 points by jkurnia 13y ago|0 comments