Wokai Launches Pilot Version of New Lending Platform

Published by Jerry Ostradicky, | 19 Oct 2008 at 09:14 pm

It’s no suprise that I am a big fan of microfinance lending platforms. I have always been a big supporter of Kiva and Microplace, but am always looking for new platforms to join. Recently, I discussed the launch of a new platform called Veecus, which is a new organization in the microfinance scene.

However, one of the newest platforms out there might not sound so new. Wokai, who has been working on launching their new platform, has been discussing their journey through their blog. Recently, Wokai announced that they are launching a pilot version of their lending platform. With the pilot platform, Wokai is looking for 200 people to test out the site by making $50 in contributions directly to microentrepreneurs in Inner Mongolia, and providing feedback on this process.

Here is a short video clip describing their new platform:

Author's Website: http://www.mykro.org

6 Comments Lending Platforms

6 Responses to “Wokai Launches Pilot Version of New Lending Platform”

Leslie Forman on 19 Oct 2008 at 11:56 pm #

Thanks Jerry for writing about our Pilot Program. This week we’re starting its second stage. I especially love reading the stories, from both the entrepreneurs and contributors.

Also, I recently attended a conference at Stanford where I met representatives from many different microfinance marketplaces. You might be particularly interested in RangDe (from India) as it is a microfinance lending platform by Indians for Indians. The full list of online giving marketplaces that attended this conference is here (scroll down to the middle) http://philanthropy.blogspot.com/2008/10/online-giving-marketplaces.html
Bhalchander Vishwanath on 20 Oct 2008 at 1:42 pm #

Hi Jerry,

My name is Bhalchander Vishwanath. I am the founder and CEO of United Prosperity. We launched on October 9th. You could check our website http://www.unitedprosperity.org. With our model, the general public can guarantee loans on our website. With the guarantee model, $1 in guarantee translates to $2 to $5 in loan to entrepreneurs, thereby maximizing the impact for social guarantors.

Cheers

Bhalchander
Jerry Ostradicky on 22 Oct 2008 at 1:32 pm #

Thank you Leslie and Bhalchander for your feedback. I will definitely take a look at both of the websites that you suggested, and will most likely make a follow up post.

In the meantime, if you know of anybody who uses the platfroms you suggested, either as donors, recipients, or employees, who would be interested in sharing their experiences on the mykro blog, please send them our way
Thanks

Jerry
Bhalchander Vishwanath on 24 Oct 2008 at 8:23 am #

Hi Jerry,

Thank you very much. We do not have any guarantors or entrepreneurs yet as we are not yet operational. A few of my team mates and myself will be happy to share our experience over the last one year on the mykro blog. Let me know how we could do that.
Cheers,
Bhalchander
Wokai NYC Launch Party - May 27th | myKRO on 25 May 2009 at 9:17 am #

[...] a microfinance event in your neck of the woods this coming Wednesday worth checking out. Wokai.org, which has been covered here on myKRO before, is doing a fundraising party to celebrate the launch of their New York [...]
The Microfinance Conversation on Twitter | myKRO on 31 May 2009 at 5:15 pm #

[...] Wilson – The CEO and co-founder of Wokai.org (a lending platform Jerry first covered in October) is a fairly active tweeter. I had the chance to meet her a couple weeks ago, and she’s [...]

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No Pago! Reasons to Resist Microfinance in Nicaragua
By MRD
29/08/2010 2:17 pm
I’ve researched microcredit in Nicaragua on and off for the last two years. I’ve interviewed nearly three hundred clients from across the country. I’d say there are two main issues at play in looking at the limits to microfinance here. First, the vast majority of borrowers in the informal market. Investment in their business only lets them sell more bottles of pepsi, more gallo pinto or more cosmetics. The problem is one of adding value to the goods and services to people in this sector. I have interviewed so many people who have a group bank composed of people who all own pulperias and (presumably) just sell each other snacks. The ‘more’ successful clients I’ve talked with tend to be those involved in things like artesania where they can command a higher price, often by shipping their handicraft to another country (like guatemala or mexico).

Second, microfinance providers are prohibited from offering other kinds of banking services – they can only dispense loans. For agricultural clients who do no need more debt at the time of the year when the market is replete with corn and beans and the prices are very low, there is no place (other than under the matress) to put any savings. Both of these point to the immense problem of the dearth of small and medium enterprises here. Very few businesses served by MFIs have more than 1 to 3 people working for them including the borrower.

Finally, echoing the post I am a bit skeptical of the MNP motives. The MNP functions as a protection racket.However, the MNP works by members taking out as many loans as they can without any plans to pay them back. Members actually pay for the protection the group provides them from their creditors. If a loan officer comes to collect, they call up their MNP jefe and they chase them out of town or chop up their motorcycle.

I’d agree that financial literacy programs are important and underutilized. These loan products are quite straightforward – interest is a simple compound and borrowers know how much they owe every period and how much they will pay at the end of the term. If they dont think they can pay, they don’t have to borrow. You don’t get into $600,000 of debt in places like Jalapa by accident or financial illiteracy.

Alba Coruna not only gives out loans with low, subsidized interest rates but their clients do not appear on the country wide database of risky clients. For example, I can take out a whole bunch of AC loans, not pay all of them back, and then go in and try to borrow from a host of other MFIs linked in with ASOMIF (the industry association) and none of them will know how many loans I have outstanding. So I can then turn around and not pay them back either. Much more likely here is that these are soft programs to garner favor with the government backing them up.

To Catch A Dollar - Private Screening
By To Catch A Dollar – Private Screening — My Thoughts on Microfinance, Life, Web 2.0, Blogging, and Business
26/08/2010 11:02 am
[...] [via myKRO.org] 0 Comments [...]

No Pago! Reasons to Resist Microfinance in Nicaragua
By KingofPaupers
21/08/2010 7:44 pm
“These incidents are only a few examples of the bad feeling that microfinance institutions (MFIs) have inspired among a section of the rural population in north and central Nicaragua. So, why have the borrowers been protesting? Here are some reasons I’ve uncovered. High Interest Rates. Microfinance institutions in Nicaragua charge interest rates of as much as 21%. The protestors contend that this rate should be no more than 8%. Yes, 21% sounds like a large percentage of a small loan. However, microfinance institutions have high transaction costs, based on the labor-intensive process of managing repayments.”
Jct: Har har har. Mr. “High Interest” Microlending loanshark is given a Nobel Prize. I guess my boast of getting a Nobel Prize too as Mr. “No Interest” for my UNILETS Macrolending Millennium Declaration C6 for a time-based currency to restructure the global financial architecture.

Grameen (and Kiva) Need Your Help!
By myKRO » Hip Hop Microfinance Music Video - Exploring the World of Microfinance
19/08/2010 7:01 am
[...] the last month, Grameen has been making a big marketing push by putting out all sorts of videos. Drew recently posted a video where Grameen interns put together a rap video telling people to vote for the Grameen Bank in the Members Project. The [...]

No Pago! Reasons to Resist Microfinance in Nicaragua
By John Harmsworth
18/08/2010 7:40 am
In this submission I will play the role of the ignorant outsider as I am a fairly recent discoverer of Kiva. I was previously aware of the Grameen bank initiative but I had no knowledge of the practical issues in play. I have found myself somewhat frustrated in attempting to identify loan requests on Kiva that I feel represent a real opportunity for advancement for the individuals borrowing and communties they are serving.

Now that I understand better the types of interest that are charged on these loans I have even greater concerns. The off-setting factor which I would also have to investigate is the local inflation rate, but I find it hard to believe that loans at 20% for home improvement can be helpful to clients in the longer term unless their homes are unlivable.

I always try to identify people who are borrowing to improve their productive capacity and/or their ability to serve their local market with goods or services that are otherwise unavailable or imported. It seems to me that the MFIs may be missing an important responsibility in not providing guidance on what constitutes a wisely sought loan. While most poor people are probably quite intelligent about small amounts of money, they may not have experience with borrowing. I also have a problem with reading that an MFI had 6 people jailed for failing to repay a loan. No Western organization should be sanctioning debtor’s imprisonment in the 21st century.

At the same time it seems very likely that Mssrs. Ortega and Chavez have ulterior motives in their sponsorship ( control? ) of the Alba Caruna. Perhaps MFI involvement in Nicaragua has reached the saturation point and a refocusing is required. It seems to me that this would also be a good time to support an independent member owned credit union. This could be more community based which would reduce the travel requirements of the MFIs. After all, isn’t the intent of these programs to assist people to get out of the poverty trap?
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