jkurnia

31 ms·

1. 241.▲
   What’s It Like To Be A Nonprofit At Y Combinator(dutiee.com)

   1 points by jkurnia 13y ago|0 comments
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   1000 hackers join Paul Buchheit (Gmail creator) P2P loan campaign for Africa(p2p-microlending-blog.zidisha.org)

   1 points by jkurnia 13y ago|0 comments
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   by jkurnia 13y ago

   Hi smithm9, I also do not know of any study that definitively "proves" that microfinance alleviates poverty. I think one reason is that it is hard to decouple the effects of microfinance from the many random events that determine
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   by jkurnia 13y ago

   I certainly agree that entrepreneurs need more than money to succeed. Our concern with a profit-sharing model is that there seems to be no practical way to enforce truthful reporting and sharing of the profits. Relying on self-reporting al
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   by jkurnia 13y ago

   Hi bliti, we do not have any plans to offer lending services in the US. Not because Americans are less deserving, but simply because it is not our area of expertise or focus. If you would like to lend to entrepreneurs in the US, I would re
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   by jkurnia 13y ago

   I think the use of loans depends a great deal on the location and microfinance program in question. At Zidisha, we don't restrict the purpose of loans (other than requiring that it be legal and ethical). The vast majority of applicati
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   by jkurnia 13y ago

   Hi wehadfun, that is a valid question. There are a few reasons we facilitate loans instead of gifts: 1. Loans once repaid can be lent out repeatedly, thereby helping many more people. 2. Repaying a loan at a reasonable interest rate puts le
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   by jkurnia 13y ago

   Hi iiiears, thanks for giving Zidisha a try and for this feedback. I'm so sorry our website gave you a redirect when you tried to view our terms of service. Would you mind letting me know which browser you are using so that we can try
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   by jkurnia 13y ago

   Hi janj, I am not familiar with any place where debt is not used in some form or another. (See http://www.amazon.com/Portfolios-Poor-How-Worlds-Live/dp/069... for a really thorough exposition of the variety of de
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    by jkurnia 13y ago

    Hi btilly, I am not an expert in property law in general. I understand it is a contentious issue in much of Latin America, Hernando De Soto's area of focus. I can tell you that many Zidisha borrowers do have formal legal title to far
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    by jkurnia 13y ago

    In the past year especially, many of the loan uses we are seeing in Kenya are computer or internet-related. The internet is spreading fast among young adults. Here is a pretty typical account, posted a few days ago by one of our new membe
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    by jkurnia 13y ago

    Hi notahacker, a few of our lenders have requested non-withdrawable accounts. The idea is that the full amount credited to these accounts would be tax-deductible, and lenders would retain control of how the funds were lent out. Informal co
13. 253.▲
    by jkurnia 13y ago

    Hi pratyushag, in general, I am not a fan of handout-based approaches to charity. In my experience the negative psychological effects of handouts outweigh the short-term economic benefits. See http://www.huffingtonpost.com&#x2F
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    by jkurnia 13y ago

    I see now that somebody has removed the mention of Zidisha as a lower-interest alternative and left a discussion of Kiva Zip in its place.
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    by jkurnia 13y ago

    I think many people would feel the same way. We usually see 25% rates offered for small loans for new members, which are only held for a short time. For example, a new borrower may request $50 at 25% interest and hold it for one month, an
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    by jkurnia 13y ago

    Hi kanamekun, thanks for bringing up the point about Zidisha being a competing organization with Kiva. Do you think it would be better for readers if they were not aware of Zidisha as an alternative way of addressing the high interest rates
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    by jkurnia 13y ago

    Hi lukasm, an online investment / advising service that bridged the international wealth divide would add immense value. We did not attempt it at Zidisha due to the difficulties in monitoring and policing such a system at scale. Most
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    by jkurnia 13y ago

    I agree that this is confusing. We state in our terms of use that we are not obligated to return lender funds because doing so could be construed as selling securities under US law - something we are not licensed to do. In practice, we hav
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    by jkurnia 13y ago

    In fact, that seems to have been the trend so far. A year ago, the average rate paid to lenders was only 3% annually.
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    by jkurnia 13y ago

    Hi rdl, the question of which interest rate will result in the best social impact is one of the most frequently debated topics among Zidisha users. We allow borrowers to offer any interest rate they wish, up to a maximum of 25%. Lenders are
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    by jkurnia 13y ago

    Hi nowarninglabel, I did publish a post last week comparing our service with Kiva Zip: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/julia-kurnia/zidisha-vs-kiva-z... I wrote this to provide greater clarity to our users and the public
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    by jkurnia 13y ago

    Hi phantom_oracle, we've investigated profit-sharing models, and consulted with some experts in Islamic microfinance about the feasibility of implementing a profit-sharing form of financing for Zidisha. This was attractive to us becau
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    by jkurnia 13y ago

    Hi nanijoe, we have not yet had the chance to offer a program in Nigeria, but hope to soon. We chose Kenya as the first country to pilot Zidisha, largely because it was the world leader in mobile phone-based payments, which we use to disbur
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    by jkurnia 13y ago

    Hi minimax, you are correct - if you lent at 5% interest with a 10% default rate, you would lose money. Note that most borrowers offer interest well above 5%, and lenders are free to fund the loans at or below the offered rate. In my exper
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    by jkurnia 13y ago

    Hi David, this is a complex question and I agree with you that a lot depends on the circumstances and details. My understanding is that many cash transfer programs have had measurable positive economic effects, both when they are targeted a
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    by jkurnia 13y ago

    Hi pilom, It was extremely difficult to send payments to individuals in pretty much all developing countries until about five years ago. Since then, mobile phone payment services, which allow funds to be sent via secure SMS message, have p
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    by jkurnia 13y ago

    Dear all - I'm Julia, the founder of Zidisha. I'd welcome comments and questions from anyone who would like to learn more about our P2P microlending platform. If you'd like to hear more about my own journey and the experienc
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    Grow a vibrant community of lenders for global P2P microlending

    1 points by jkurnia 13y ago
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    The “mine of gold” inside(p2p-microlending-blog.zidisha.org)

    1 points by jkurnia 13y ago|0 comments
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    Zidisha: a game changer in microfinance?(linkedin.com)

    1 points by jkurnia 13y ago|0 comments