Zidisha Inc.

Unfortunately, this organisation became less and less transparant in the course of the last years. Most of the money I paid in is lost, and it is extremely hard to find out where the money was lost, as Zidisha does not display anymore how much money was lent to which project.

NOT TRUSTWORTHY! It's FRAUD when their policy is to repeatedly change your settings to default back to "auto-lend" your repayments to keep your money in their system, padding their numbers. Julia Kurnia (founder) made it clear in multiple email replies to my complaints that this was their policy and would not be changing. Indeed, 5 years later, the settings I enter default back to "auto-relend." AVOID!

Beware Investors in Zidisha!!!
Zidisha is not regulated or has a license which can be explained, however they don't produce any audited financial statements. Therefore no oversight of their finances. This is a big red flag! Even bigger because they have no obligation to return lenders funds ("Zidisha makes no guarantee or representation that funds lent through its website will be repaid to lenders, regardless of whether the loans financed with lender funds are repaid to Zidisha. Any cash payouts are promotional gifts offered solely at Zidisha's discretion." https://www.zidisha.org/terms-of-use). This is because lenders funds do not belong to the lenders but legally are the property of Zidisha.

The Members Loan Fund is completely shrouded in mystery - no details ever disclosed of this fund. Again since there are no audited financial statements how do we know what is happening to this fund?

Lenders beware!!!
Their story of cutting out the middle-man and connecting borrowers with lenders directly is brilliant, however the organization behind it cannot be trusted and is ripe to end up in a major scandal at some point. Then lenders and borrowers will have nothing and the enormous goodwill will be shattered. I have reached out to the organization with my concerns but have been ignored.

Zidisha has really helped me in various ways, their constant support to Africans are enormous.

I can boldly say zidisha is the number one Money lender in the world due to their Works

This is one of the best nonprofit organization that has reached out to many needy people. Personally, it has helped me to support my business by providing me with interests free loans that I continually request and payback whenever I have a need. From this organization, my kids are able to go to school through the support I ve got by uplifting my business, not me alone but to thousands of people across the world. Zidisha is God sent and whoever is able to donate to this organization is doing a noble Task. I am personally a volunteer mentor to around 50 members and they are all grateful of this great organization. Long live zidisha!

ZIDISHA
That is where the rags to riches true stories come from.
I was very frustrated with life one year ago.
Did not know whete the next meal would come from.
Then I was invited to Zidisha and now my family is assured of every next meal.
When I see their smiles,I always pray for the Zidisha lenders,
May GOD bless them and reward them abundantly.

For along time i did not have a source of capital to expand my business since i had no ability to get a loan from a bank cosidering the security required by banking instituitions for one to obtain a loan.
Even if i was qualified for a bank loan it would be so difficult for me to pay the loan due to high interest rates and short payment durations set by banks.
Zidisha offers me a zero interest loan which i repay at my own pace and adjustable installments of my choice. It has really helped me grow, infact i have so much hope in life out of Zidisha.

I had some difficulties financially wise.my business was really strungling but when I came to know about zidisha.it was like God had just answered my prayer.everything changed for the better and my family standard too changed.thank you so much Zidisha and may God guild and bless our generous lenders always .remember blessed is the hand that give out than the one which receive it

Thanks to Zidisha family at large, it came in at my rescue when I was frustrated in my horticulture business due to lack of funds. The help I received time and again has greatly improved my life, the life of my family and the neighbours as well. That's why I choose to volunteer and help reach out to help other benefit from Zidisha. May God bless the entire community and the founder. I will remain committed to see the vision fulfilled.

Am Paul Mutie from Nairobi, Kenya. It is now three years and counting since i joined Zidisha Inc. and all i can say is, it is amongest the best decision i have ever made in my life. Here in my country qualifing for credit is almost imposible and especially for youths since we do not own properties which can qualify as security for one to get a loan. Thanks to Zidisha they came with simple and effective process that enabled youths and low class income earners aquire credit at almost zero interest rates. Since their intervation to the Kenyan market they have touched and change many lives and the most amazing thing is that they have made the local financial instutions realise that young people can be trusted with finances even without security. Thanks Zidisha team and all the lenders for the good work you are doing and may the almighty God continue showering you with more blessings!

I am a graduate who refused to take up employment for the sake of my fellow youths who are struggling to put food on the table because of lack of employment. I decided to struggle with them and God willing, create employment for most of them. However, i did not have adequate capital. Zidisha has been helping me through its lenders to achive my dream of one day, creating employment for our youths, I love Zidisha for this! hail Zidisha!

Zidisha funding has contributed immensely to my business and hence my family. Had it not been the support of Zidisha, my business would have collapsed!
Repayments are very flexible and accessing loan is without bureaucracies and hustle. Thanks to all our lenders.

Zidisha has lifted me from nothing to where i am through their accessible loan.

at first when i heard about zidisha i taught it was some kind of internet game or internet fraud so i didnt like to participate,but later through testimonies from friends and neighbours i realized it was a real thing, so i took my time to read more about zidisha and came to think seriously about it and i believed in it, since last year that i joined zidisha i am able to boost my work,my living and also have introduced many people into it who are also benefiting nicely.So i hav e took it upon myself spreading it to the needy ones and the poor ones to join and anyone who joins is also talking about it.

zidisha has been of great help to me in my business. My business has greatly grown i have seen great change, i have met deadlines of delivery of orders i had for stationary and books to schools which give me orders, i have added stock to my business, i have also been able to buy a piece of land with Zidisha loan.

I am Sarfo Frimpong Kwasi. I joined Zidisha about two years ago. I was given a loan with a very low interest and flexible mode of payments. The loan s I received from Zidisha has helped me expand my cashew farm from two hectares to five. I have invited about ten people who have also been blessed through Zidisha. I am currently sponsoring the education of three children including a hearing impaired girl.

My name is Augustine Kwame Ansah. I live in Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. I love Zidisha so much, because, Zidisha helped me with my fitness centre in the Sunyani. It also helped me taking care of my family. Thank you.

I am 30 years old, married with two children Favour Blessing and Trevor Mark,
Professionally I am a graphic designer, web developer, photographer. I have always dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur at a tender age and run my own business, I finished my high school with a very good grade joined Nairobits school of digital design and graduated with Diploma in journalism and media studies from Regional Institute Of Business Studies, I joined Advertising and Marketing sector working in different Design Agencies and productions studios gaining valuable skill and market experience before venturing into private practice.
I love soccer, skating, basketball, traveling and learning new culture from different part of the nation and am ardent fan of short film documentaries.
My main focus is to grow my business into a big brand both local and international and expand my service to a wider clientele base.

Zidisha Has really Changed My life its a great initiative that i joined and i have No regrets through the organization i have fulfilled Some of my goals in life,its a noble idea You do not need to have collateral assets, a bank account, guarantors, or a salaried job to raise a loan.
that,s one thing that has help Zidisha grow both local and International the lend rates are and cost is usually far lower than bank loans, and you choose your own repayment schedule.
Right Now my photography business has grow thanks to Zidisha i can support my familly am a living testimony.

Oscar Alochi

i did not know about zidisha until when my business was about to collapse.I had tried to get capital from the local bank without succes. The high interest rates of the local banks worsened the situation plus their hidden additional charges.When i heard about zidisha ,first i doubted due to their low costs for accessing the loan.I read the terms and believed that zidisha is best for any business growth.They offer lowest financing cost in Kenya.I really thanks Zidisha.I have also recommended my friends who also have given a positive feedback on zidisha have led to empowerment of young entrepreneurs thus eradicating poverty and creating employment to the people

Thanks very much for the loan, it has helped me pay my semester fees.

Zidisha has helped me boost my business, I do cereals business, I used to buy beans at small quantities and sell then rush to the market to buy more and that way my profit was reduced because of using transport more often, I had to do that due to lack of capital.
After getting my second Zidisha loan i can buy beans in bags and sell in retail or in bags. I am so grateful to Zidisha for the great help.

Second thing is that in Zidisha you get a loan without hassling with paper work looking for guarantors, security and following up everyday utilizing alot of time.

Hi i am a teambuilding and camping facilitator from kenya. Zidisha Inc. has really been of great help to me. Their communication and problem solving is top notch. My business is really growing. It is not where i want it to be but i can witness it is far much ahead from where it used to be. Through the profits i have made with their loans, I have been able to buy more camping equipments, employed two casual staff and I am soon moving from being freelance business person to having an office that i am in the process of building. The greatest joy is that i will not be paying anyone rent anymore.
I will continue using their services. I cant compare it to what the local banks are offering.

Zidisha has been the best nonprofit organization i hav known that is giving the best service ever.... i have grown to the next level thanx to zidisha.

Its been a month since i received the loan.. I thank you lenders so much and the Zidisha community for the great help you are giving to us...I did a lot with the money. I moved from first floor to ground floor, where i now have a big space. i added more services, Mpesa, online services, printing, photocopy and passport photos. and i used the other room for Barber shop, manicure, pedicure, and ear piercing. I added my saving to the 696 USD to do this much....You realy are traansforming lives. THANK YOU

Hi All
My name is Joseph Mwangi and I joined Zidisha without knowing exactly how it works. I have enjoyed each and every moment I have been a member. My business has grown using the funds/loans I have gotten from this great organization. I would recommend any willing, faithful person to join.
Many thanks to Zidisha founders for coming up with this very noble idea which has touched many lives especially in my country, Kenya. I will forever cherish Zidisha.

I am a businessman in Kenya and I joined Zidisha a little over two years ago. The main purpose of joining this organization was to get business loans at a reasonable interest which I could not get locally. I managed to get my first loan of about USD 100 within two weeks. Though the amount was modest, it marked my entry point into the organization and I also spread the word around to family and friends who joined so as to get the low interest credit.

I managed to clear the first loan within 5 weeks and I got a much bigger second loan and I was able to buy more machines for my ICT business. In the meantime, the people that I invited started getting loans and inviting more people as the news spread like bush-fire.

My business and the quality of life I have today would definitely not be possible without the credit facility that I have been given by Zidisha. The same can be said by the very many people whom I know as beneficiaries of this program. There are children who would have missed their secondary and college education if it was not for Zidisha.

I and many other borrowers have pegged their growth forecast on the credit that they expect to continue getting from Zidisha as they find it as very reliable partner in their business.

Borrower

David

Zidisha have really boosted our online freelancing business in terms of low cost financing.We really appreciate their support.

Dear grateful Lenders, I am eternally grateful for everything you do for me. Thank you so much for using your generous and perfect guidance to support me and my business, as well. Things was very hard for me, but since I met you with your generosity, I am able to expand my repairing and training business. In previous days, I was managing only the repairing, but now people are so willing to have a good training from me. Because, there is no any repairing training centre in my town. Since this business became so profitable, it created a good job for me, and that also is becoming so interesting for others to learn, from me. So, when I receive this loan, I will use part of it to buy a training tools for the trainers. I hope this loan would be fully funded soon. Thank you for supporting me.

Zidisha has been helpful to me in so many ways. With the help I get from zidisha, now my education is moving on smoothly with less difficulty when it comes to financial aspect.

Zidisha it has been of great help and support to me and my family,since I joined Zidisha 2013 my family and business life changed completely to the best,I have been able to meet my family needs and I can recommend Zidisha to anyone who wants his or her business to grow,kudos Zidisha and my prayers and thirst is many lenders can consider being a part of Zidisha success

I consider Zidisha the best nonprofit because it is the only organization that I have met that offers extremely cheap loans. It does not charge interest on loans. The overall cost of loan according to my experience is the lowest in the market. Another great benefit of this organization is flexibility. Borrowers can pay as low as approximately 1 USD per week, meaning people have control over the repayment period and size of each installment. There is no charge for changing the weekly repayment amount. Besides, there is no requirement for collateral. Due to these features, Zidisha is the best opportunity for borrowers who cannot approach the traditional lending institutions, but are able to develop their profile overtime to increase their credit limits and access substantial amounts of loan. By Bernard (Client)

Zidisha has completely turned my life 180 degrees for the better! I never imagined I could have quick accessible loans that are payable at the convenient of my phone and a pace which is desirable to my circumstances. The lenders are very good and am sure Zidisha is here to stay.

My life, family and business have all improved to levels I never thought of before joining Zidisha. Thank you Zidisha Team and all the lenders.

To my fellow borrowers, please let us use the loans we get to the appropriate use and repay on time so that others can benefit like us. Love you ALL!!!

As a volunteer in Kenya, I have been assigned with over thirty Individuals who successfully got small loans. Most of the applicants use the money to start businesses or boost stock in their existing business. When I look how they are before being given the loan I can say that their standard of living has improved and they are very grateful to the lenders who have made a big impact in their life.

I will forever be gratedlful to this organization they helped me expand my business and now I have a higher turn over and great profit margin

This has helped me grow my business from the loans they offer that are affordable with a very flexible repayment plan.

I started lending via Zidisha a couple of years ago. At first, I was content with the way the organization operated. As a former KIVA lender, I understood the risk of undertaking these loans and did not enter into them as a means to make money, but to help people. So, if some folks fell behind or life happened and they couldn't pay the entire balance back, I was fine with that. I rarely set the interest rate above zero on my loans as I was not interested in making life more difficult for people who needed help. All was fine for a while, then something happened with the way the borrowers were vetted or the way the community volunteers were selected (never did figure it out), but suddenly many of my borrowers either made one payment and disappeared, or never made a payment at all. Frankly, it felt and looked like con artists had slipped into the borrower mix and were taking on loans they had no intention of paying back. After repeatedly being stiffed, I gave up on micro-lending all together, stopped making new loans with Zidisha and moved on to other charities. I did, however, keep getting small payments from the few legitimate borrowers who were left.

After poking around on the Zidisha website one day, I realized that I needed to make sure to keep an eye on where my repayments were going, as the site rules had changed without notice and were preset to take any repayments and reinvest them without my knowledge. Since I felt that I could no longer trust that folks in legitimate need would get my repayments, I quickly reset that option. Now, I make sure I check into the site every month to manually transfer any new repayment funds out of Zidisha.

Today, I made my monthly check only to discover that they've made yet another change to the site, Now there is no way to see the status of your outstanding loans and/or the amount still due. They have now removed the "Your Loans" page that showed each loan you made, the balance due remaining, and other details. Now all you have access to is the "Your Impact" page that shows each borrower and the overall percentage they have repaid, but no details as to how much you loaned and/or how much of your loan is outstanding. The information is generic and pretty useless. I checked the site's Forum and found several entries from folks who were confused by this change as well. Zidisha's explanation is that they felt the "Your Loans" page made them look less like a philanthropic organization and more like lenders. This is, in my opinion, utter nonsense.

I don't care that some deserving folks couldn't make their payments—it’s a charity, for crying out loud. I care that Zidisha has a pattern of changing their policies and procedures without notice to take advantage of the very people who support their work. I care that the poor repayment rate caused by poor vetting, poor field management or whatever by Zidisha, is being obfuscated by tweaking the web-site records to keep lenders in the dark as to the success or failure of their contributions. This is not hurting me or other lenders. This is not making Zidisha look like some super hero philanthropic organization. This is hurting people who need help.

I signed up to Zidisha a few years ago as an alternative to Kiva. I liked the format and being able to lend without charging people high interest rates that's common in microfinance. I've since become very unhappy with my experience with Zidisha.

My first issue was with how the website was geared to relend any money you've been paid back. It is automatically set to relend your money in small increments. I found all the money I'd been repaid on my first few loans had been relent out into 15+ small $1 loans, before I realized it was set-up to do this.

My account was considered 'inactive' and stuck on the setting to automatically relend out any positive balance. Once I was able to reactivate my account (if I recall right, I had to lend out more money to do this), I found I could reset Zidisha to not relend my money out. But it put a short time frame on this period (a few months), after which, it'd start lending any positive balance back out in small amounts.

I have to sign in every few months to withdraw my balance via Paypal and renew this 'do not relend' period. This is quite frustrating.

Many of these small loans Zidisha made on my behalf haven't been paid back and seem to have been lent out to some not so reputable looking loan requests. I thought I'd have more autonomy to choose who my loans went to.

I've currently got around half of what I originally lent outstanding (I think - read below). It's coming in at a few dollars every month.

They used to show you how much you'd lent out to who on a "Your Loans' page. Now, that page is gone, and they've said they're now focusing on how Zidisha is a philanthropy and not a financial investment site.

I have no idea how many individual outstanding loans I currently have, or to whom. They've removed access to that information. Apparently, to Zidisha, philanthropy is mutually exclusive with transparency.

I never viewed Zidisha as an opportunity to make financial gains. I expected to take some losses, perhaps some very significant ones. What I didn't expect is how Zidisha takes control away from me as a lender and hides information on the money I have lent.

As a lender, I expect transparency and respect from the organizations I work with. I don't feel that Zidisha has provided that.

I can only echo the words about this being more a charity.....although perhaps not one helping the people you intended to.

A few years ago I read about p2p lending (as an investment) and then about microfinancing. I was intrigued by the idea and though sites such as zidisha were great.

I added a little to three sites : zidisha, kiva and lendwithcare. Out of all of them zidisha was my favourite because of the low fees (on both sides) and the fact your load went where it said - not into some big pot with faces/stories giving a false impression of direct allocation.

After trialling for a short while (not long enough) I added more to zidisha since there were less fees to get my GBP funds in and I could help who I chose.

I eventually noticed auto-lending - I set it up with a low amount and sorted by risk...I think it originally auto allocated a chunk of money. More recently I see the minimum amount auto lent has increased which seems designed to drain any balance you may have. The only way I knew to prevent this "feature" was to make a small loan every so often to reset the countdown clock.

So - why did I want a balance rather then relend? Simple - a great number of loans seemed fraudulent. I know people can become ill and situations change - I know who & why I aimed to help in the first place.....but there were just too many. With the auto lending and probably with me getting carried away in the beginning I have seen a 42% loss from the initial. I have taken out $1200 and have about $200 in zidisha. Frankly I feel this money can be better utilised on another site. lendwithcare lost just 4.04% and kiva 11.48%

This is a non-profit, in fact more a charity, and it is crucial to keep that in mind if lending through this platform. One should not expect to retain the capital placed into the system. I have seen about 30% of the money I have put in, over the past two years, disappear - sometimes with an explanation from the borrower or zidisha volunteers, but often without any reasons provided. I have also encountered many enthusiastic, hard working borrowers who seem to make excellent use of the loans they receive. It's a mixed bag - with Zidisha, you have to expect bad lending experiences with the good.

I was hopeful about the prospects of this funding platform, but the losses to the lender are too great. Out of $825 I have uploaded over several years, I only hope to get back about 55% or less of the principal. Also there are some unscrupulous practices at Zidisha occurring now where they switch your account to "auto-lending" thereby draining your account every 24 hours according to some default preferences that I had never authorized. I was never notified of a change in their terms and this new feature was activated without my knowledge and money started leaving my account. The founder refuses to correct the situation and removes posts that are contrary to her "terms" on the member forum pages so that no one else can be warned about these settings. I can't recommend this Nonprofit and encourage you to stay away.

Zidisha is a great concept, but for these few years it's been in business it's still bad execution.

First, there are still a lot of crooks in the community. A lot of borrowers planning to take the loan and then walk away. This problem has been improved over the past few years, and we know we can never 100% eliminate these crooks. So this is fine.

However, the biggest problem is, as the lender, you cannot, and I mean CANNOT, make any accusation on borrowers, even if it's crystal clear the borrower cheated. I had borrowers who just took the money, and then the next day disappeared with $0 repaid, and after a few weeks the loan defaulted. Even in this situation if you accuse the borrower, according to Zidisha you are making "unproven accusation that hurts the borrower and community", and the worst case is they will close your account right away (happened to me).

Lender-borrower relationship is suppose to be equal and win-win relationships. Unfortunately Zidisha DOES NOT understand this; they side with the borrowers and treat lenders as second-class citizens. If you think you will be respected for being charitable by taking ALL the financial risks, and charging an absurdly low interest rate in order to help borrower, THINK AGAIN. Zidisha does NOT respect lenders. For you, you filthy lenders live in developed world and should be happy. It is your honor to get conned by people from developing nations and DON'T YOU DARE VOICE UP AND POINT OUT THE FACTS.

Microfinance is one of the most useful ways in which people in the developed world can help those in developing countries. Of all of the microfinance organizations that I know, Zidisha is unique. It directly links lenders like me, to borrowers in Kenya, Ghana, and other countries. I can lend as much or as little as I like, I can request reasonable interest if I want, and I can (and do) directly communicate with the borrowers. I have several borrowers to whom I have made 2 or 3 or 4 loans over the years, as I have seen their businesses grow, seen them offer employment to others, seen them working hard to succeed. The personal link, and the fact that there is no middleman, makes Zidisha terrific.

Zidisha is a single place that a struggling individual can find affordable and dignified financial aid. Zidisha gives everyone a chance to prove his honesty and trustworthy to the world!

great staff it will assist the entrepreneurs it is a wonderful experience to connect with zidisha

I was pointed towards microfinance a few years ago as an alternative to charity donation - more sustainable, more interaction, not simply pouring pounds (I am British) down the drain. It was about the time of the shake up in microfinance and people were realising that sites like Kiva took a significant cut along the way.

I came across Zidisha in Jan 2012 via a websearch and it was very well reviewed. I find it very rewarding as it is very explicit about how it works and you decide exactly who you support - it's a direct line to the real people trying to make a living in developing countries. To be honest, I don't worry too much about whether I gain or loose money as I see it as a "leveraged" charity donation. I don't look for a significant return but there is a 2-3% default rate that I loosely try to offset and overall I think I'm up slightly.

This is a great organisation. I check it every now and again but I fully expect to donate through it in the medium to long term.

Zidisha is a microfinance organization that allows lenders to loan directly to borrowers at reasonable interest rates, plus a borrower transaction fee. The borrower sets the rate ceiling, not Zidisha or another third party organization or Microfinance Institution (MFI). Actually, a lender has the option of lending at a 0% interest rate, which is a big plus as is the ability of lenders and borrowers to interact directly with each other. The ability to control rates while lending, transparency of Zidisha (e.g. disclosure of rates & fees), and having no intermediaries are the three main factors that attracted me to Zidisha. I intend to keep lending here as long as the three main factors remain.

By allowing me to lend directly to recipients, Zidisha ensures there are very few costs involved. This makes the interest rates paid by the recipients low, while encouraging donors to set realistic rates. This isn't a charity so much as a method of sensible economic stimulation. I am happy to make a modest profit on my loans so that money can be lent out again and again. After more than a year, I have had no bad debt and am lending to about 30 recipients with amounts of about $10-20. Charity should be about all of us really, and Zidisha social lending is close to this ideal.

Zidisha is the one nonprofit microfinance organization out there that is created to help poor business owners throughout Africa. Zidisha's main strengths our it's transparency which encourages the lowest interest rates possible and full communication with the borrowers themselves! It's a testament to the fact that technology will be able to connect us personally to the poor's business, and allow us to have profound impact on the daily lives of others from the comfort of our PC.

Zidisha offers the unique opportunity to loan directly to African individuals who are seeking small loans in order to start new or expand existing businesses. In addition to the interest paid on money loaned, this peer to peer model also includes the bonus of personal communication. It is a unique life-changing experience for the borrower who receives they funds they need and the lender who gets to experience first hand the effects of the money they lend. I love this concept and look to be lending for many more years to come. Go Zidisha!

Zidisha is a peer to peer microloan service, funding loans to small business owners in countries like Kenya and Senegal. On their site, http://zidisha.org, you can view photos of prospective borrowers and brief descriptions of the amount and purpose of the loans requested. When you find one you like, you can see a detailed description of the business, the credit rating of the borrower, and the proposed rate of interest. You can then bid on all or part of the loan. Loans I have made range from $25 to $50 of an average $500 loan. So far, I have received monthly repayments on time, and have simply put the funds into new loans. I like Zidisha because it gives me a connection to the borrowers through email updates, and a feeling that I am making a tangible contribution.

Zidisha is amazing. I am completely addicted to helping people here -- and the best part is, it is a loan. So when the folks are successful with their business and pay you back (with interest) you an take the moneya nd loan to the next entrepreneur!

The interest rates in many African countries are double digits and they really kills of the private sector. This initiate would be very helpful in the growth of the private sector. We just need to put the word out there because not so many people know about this. I be willing to promote the initiative as much as I can.

I find Zidisha to be easily accessible and I feel that it is reliable. All lender risks are clearly explained, allowing lenders to feel confident that they understand their commitment. Furthermore, I think the model is an important one: providing businesspeople in developing countries who need loans with low-interest loans is a tool that facilitates self-empowerment and promotes entrepreneurship.

Zidisha has been very helpful in assisting us with their website. The funds we have donated go to folks that are trying to better themselves. WE gave christmas presents this year to our kids so our grandchildren will start to understand community, giving, and helping others is an important thing to do.

I became interested in "microloans", when a woman i know told me about giving presents involving loans through KIVA to her two young nieces. Apparently her nieces were really excited about the process, and when the loans were repaid, they loaned the money again, rather than taking their principal and interest for personal gain. I decided to check KIVA out, in order to share this adventure with my kids and grandkids, as christmas presents. Learning more about Kiva, however, changed my mind. Kiva may be a wonderful organization, but I was pretty turned off by the fact that middle-men, called "Field Partners" by Kiva, charge EXTREMELY high interest rates. To me, this felt like usury, as their interest rates were as high as 88%, and I understand are around 35% on average.Thanks to a review of Kiva on wikipedia.com, I discovered Zidisha. Zidisha has no "Field Partners"-none whatsoever. Their interest rates are set by the borrowers; most borrowers offer around 5% interest, and this has to be accepted by lenders, such as myself. Another issue is that, with Zidisha, we lenders can decide who we loan money to. This is apparently not (always?) the case with Kiva. I'm not trying to convince anyone that they should use Zidisha over Kiva, or any other microloan ageny-just explaining how I became involved in Zidisha. My wife and I just decided to loan out another $450 to what appear to be worthwhile borrowers, also with the help of Zidisha; we're hopeful that this money helps the six recipients, and we hope we are repaid the money we loaned. Frankly, though, it's more important to us to be able to help folks who need it than to earn money on our investments. If earning money were our focus, I'd continue building houses (I'm an old building contractor), where we can earn the big bucks :)

I heard about Zidisha through a friend who filled in me in on who they are and what they do. Zidisha impressed me with their direct approach to connecting lenders with borrowers. Their website is clear and easy to navigate, and each borrow's profile really helps you appreciate what your money is going towards. As of now I am slowly being repaid my initial loan, and am more than happy to relend that money to different borrowers. Zidisha makes it easy to keep informed on the borrowers' progress. Having no experience with any other micro-financing organisations, my experience with Zidisha has been nothing but positive and I intend to continue lending for a long time.

Having decided to explore microfinance options it took me some time to find an organization with the goals and transparency that I sought. I have been impressed by my Zidisha experience. Unlike other microfinance organizations Zidisha is a peer-to-peer microlending where lenders interact directly with the borrows, eliminating the middlemen, and making the lending experience an imtimate and personal touch.

I choose Zidisha.org as my case study when writing my Master's thesis last year. I did this because Zidisha is unique in being the only platform that truly connects borrowers and lenders, and offers both the power to decide how much they want to lend and how much and at what rate to borrow. Unlike other platforms, when I lend 10$ on Zidisha, I know the exact person I'm lending to and what he/she will be using those funds for. Zidisha is the first platform to empower computer-literate entrepreneurs in developing nations to get loans at affordable rates (perhaps too low for Zidisha to be a viable stand-alone organisation...), without having the lenders loose their impact and decision-making power.

having been volunteering for Zidisha for the past four months is a life changing experience. Zidisha is far much better than any other lending organization i have ever had.Borrowing has become easy, simple and straight forward.Clients who receive their first loans through zidisha have a story to tell, this is because many have never had such an experience before.Its in the conventional wisdom that to get a loan you must have saved with the organization that gives loans and that whenever you give those small enterprenuers small loans they never pay back and this zidisha has proofed the nay sayers that its not true. I continue marketing and advocating for zidisha as many families are being transformed by zidisha.

To those familiar with how microfinance normally works, Zidisha represents a sea-change. Not only does it allow foreign lenders to lend to and interact with borrowers directly, it goes on to challenge many of the traditional assumptions of how microfinance should be done.

Can borrower credibility be sufficiently established without direct person-to-person interaction? Yes.

Can borrowers be trusted to repay their loans without regular visits from a loan officer? Yes.

Can a microfinance institution without physical presence on the ground -- no headquarters, no branches, no staff -- maintain the required credibility among clients to insure high repayment rates? Yes.

These are huge questions, and until Zidisha, they were nearly universally assumed to be impossible. Zidisha has proved each of those assumptions wrong, and in the process has been turning microfinance lending on its head. Though Zidisha is still small and young, it is already starting to inspire traditional microfinance institutions to experiment in this direction. If successful, Zidisha's example can help the industry worldwide make their loans less costly and more flexible -- all to the benefit of poor clients.

Lenders and donors who participate via Zidisha are not only establishing closer links with borrowers in Kenya, Senegal, and elsewhere, but are also helping change the microfinance industry itself.

I
have worked in the field of lending with one of the leading MFIs in
kenya for more than 10years.Some things I have learnt include; A
borrower who services his/her loan well,encourages the lender.A lender
will always be happy if the living standard of the borrower is improved
by the loan.Availability of the loan when needed determines the
repayment very much.The cost of the loan to the borrower is also an
important factor in loan repayment.etc.The demand for funds by the very
low income earners is still high but not yet met because they do not fit
very well in the current interest rates offered by the Banks.What
Zidisha is doing to connect the borrower to the lender with an affordable
interest rate is turning to be very important.After I learnt about
Zidisha through internet,I have now noted people who has taken loans
through Zidisha and even some are servicing the second loan.Therefore the lenders through Zidisha should be encouraged
because the funds is well channeled to the needy.

Zidisha is a really great organization to intern for, or volunteer with. I've been with the organization for a few months now and have experienced a very rewarding experience. I'll admit, before interning with Zidisha I knew very little about Africa, its culture, and its people. Since beginning my work I've developed an affinity for the people of Africa. They are warm people who are always optimistic and enthusiastic about the future. The people who work at Zidisha are professional, friendly, and devoted to their cause. I'd recommend them to anyone looking for internships, volunteer opportunities, or to anyone looking to lend money to those less fortunate.

I lend money through Zidisha, and I was really glad to find the site. While I've been lending (and still lend) money through other microfinance sites like Kiva, the terribly high interest rates borrowers have to pay on loans through those setups seems lika an extra burden for people already struggling. I really applaud Zidisha for creating a structure that can bring the interest rates down so significantly, and also have the borrowers more personally involved.

Zidisha clearly needs more lenders in its community: Right now, some loans might end up waiting quite a while before being completed. However, the site has been growing and improving dramatically since I joined about a year ago. With all the improvements it has ended up very nice and easy to use by now, and I see no reason why it shouldn't take off through word of mouth.

Anyone with an interest in microfinance should definitely take a look.

Zidisha is a truly innovative organization. The director, Julia Kurnia, is passionate about her work and is prompt, accountable, and knowledgeable in all manners with Zidisha Inc.

The borrowers do their best to update frequently about their life and business, which is really nice because you can see exactly how your loan helps.

Overall, I really recommend Zidisha!