Vittana
Approved to post Kiva loans from: Bolivia
Status Update – January 8th, 2014
Status Update – September 9, 2014
Vittana is in the process of winding down its organizational operations in their current form. Due to this decision, Vittana's direct partnership with Kiva has been paused. We are in conversations with Vittana about the repayment of their outstanding debt of about $125,000. This balance will be paid down through Vittana and their partner organizations that service the student loans over the course of the next two years, if not sooner.
Over the last five years, Vittana has helped introduce student loan programs that have reached 20,000 students, creating new opportunities for students and helping prove that students are worthwhile investments in many markets where student loans are rare. One of Vittana's founding beliefs was to reach scale and sustainability, and not be donor funded forever. After five years and a few different approaches, Vittana has not found a robust business model to be able to survive without philanthropic capital. There is still need for the further development of student lending, so Vittana is working to find a home for its programmatic work.
Partner Description:
Vittana is a nonprofit that aims to provide access to education for millions of young people struggling to overcome poverty around the world. Since its launch in 2009, it has provided loans to more than 6,000 students in 12 countries. Vittana and its community are committed to graduating a generation beyond poverty.
Today, there are more than 100 million students worldwide who are unable to obtain training certificates or college degrees due to insufficient funds. With a Vittana loan, a girl selling tamales can become a 3rd grade teacher, an errand boy can become a dentist, a farm girl can become a biologist -- and they can all permanently break the cycle of poverty. On average, the impact is a three-fold increase in income. With a Vittana microloan, young people can go from living on $3 a day to $9 a day or more. Students pay back these loans after they graduate and find sustainable employment. So far, Vittana students have a 99.8% repayment rate.
Vittana pioneered a $750 student microloan in developing countries that combines the transformative power of education with microfinance’s massive reach. The organization provides expertise and hands-on training to microfinance institutions (MFIs) to design loan products that meet students’ needs in each region. Capital to fund Vittana loans comes from its crowdfunding website, investment funds and strategic partnerships. The organization then collects data about the students it supports to track impact, expand programs, continue innovating and demonstrate a market effect.
Vittana’s partnership with Kiva gives Kiva lenders even more opportunities to help students afford higher education or vocational training and reach their dreams.
Kiva and Vittana have agreed to end their partnership after more than 2 years and $250,000 in loans raised. Despite much hard work and testing, Vittana concluded they could not find a scalable business model that did not require donations, so is winding down as a standalone organization.
Many of Vittana’s microfinance partners have joined as Kiva Lending Partners and will continue to offer low-cost loans to students around the world.
Vittana has repaid its outstanding balance to Kiva in full, and these funds have been distributed to lenders. We thank Vittana for the years of collaboration and passion for education
Status Update – September 9, 2014
Vittana is in the process of winding down its organizational operations in their current form. Due to this decision, Vittana's direct partnership with Kiva has been paused. We are in conversations with Vittana about the repayment of their outstanding debt of about $125,000. This balance will be paid down through Vittana and their partner organizations that service the student loans over the course of the next two years, if not sooner.
Over the last five years, Vittana has helped introduce student loan programs that have reached 20,000 students, creating new opportunities for students and helping prove that students are worthwhile investments in many markets where student loans are rare. One of Vittana's founding beliefs was to reach scale and sustainability, and not be donor funded forever. After five years and a few different approaches, Vittana has not found a robust business model to be able to survive without philanthropic capital. There is still need for the further development of student lending, so Vittana is working to find a home for its programmatic work.
Partner Description:
Vittana is a nonprofit that aims to provide access to education for millions of young people struggling to overcome poverty around the world. Since its launch in 2009, it has provided loans to more than 6,000 students in 12 countries. Vittana and its community are committed to graduating a generation beyond poverty.
Today, there are more than 100 million students worldwide who are unable to obtain training certificates or college degrees due to insufficient funds. With a Vittana loan, a girl selling tamales can become a 3rd grade teacher, an errand boy can become a dentist, a farm girl can become a biologist -- and they can all permanently break the cycle of poverty. On average, the impact is a three-fold increase in income. With a Vittana microloan, young people can go from living on $3 a day to $9 a day or more. Students pay back these loans after they graduate and find sustainable employment. So far, Vittana students have a 99.8% repayment rate.
Vittana pioneered a $750 student microloan in developing countries that combines the transformative power of education with microfinance’s massive reach. The organization provides expertise and hands-on training to microfinance institutions (MFIs) to design loan products that meet students’ needs in each region. Capital to fund Vittana loans comes from its crowdfunding website, investment funds and strategic partnerships. The organization then collects data about the students it supports to track impact, expand programs, continue innovating and demonstrate a market effect.
Vittana’s partnership with Kiva gives Kiva lenders even more opportunities to help students afford higher education or vocational training and reach their dreams.
Repayment Performance on Kiva
| This Lending Partner | All Kiva Partners | ||
| Start Date On Kiva | Nov 29, 2012 | Oct 12, 2005 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Loans | $258,025 | $2,050,658,945 | |
| Amount of raised Inactive loans | $0 | $325,375 | |
| Number of raised Inactive loans | 0 | 180 | |
| Amount of Paying Back Loans | $0 | $153,895,625 | |
| Number of Paying Back Loans | 0 | 184,697 | |
| Amount of Ended Loans | $258,025 | $1,853,611,570 | |
| Number of Ended Loans | 258 | 2,498,413 | |
| Delinquency Rate | 0.00% | 11.60% | |
| Amount in Arrears | $0 | $10,755,116 | |
| Outstanding Portfolio | $0 | $92,708,290 | |
| Number of Loans Delinquent | 0 | 37,713 | |
| Default Rate | 0.00% | 1.82% | |
| Amount of Ended Loans Defaulted | $0 | $33,754,139 | |
| Number of Ended Loans Defaulted | 0 | 89,048 | |
| Currency Exchange Loss Rate | 0.00% | 0.47% | |
| Amount of Currency Exchange Loss | $0 | $12,742,203 | |
| Refund Rate | 0.00% | 0.53% | |
| Amount of Refunded Loans | $0 | $10,938,345 | |
| Number of Refunded Loans | 0 | 9,670 |
Loan Characteristics On Kiva
| This Lending Partner | All Kiva Partners | ||
| Loans to Women Borrowers | 55.73% | 78.48% | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Loan Size | $1,000 | $393 | |
| Average Individual Loan Size | $1,000 | $585 | |
| Average Group Loan Size | $0 | $1,911 | |
| Average number of borrowers per group | 0 | 8.3 | |
| Average GDP per capita (PPP) in local country | $5,500 | $5,592 | |
| Average Loan Size / GDP per capita (PPP) | 18.18% | 7.03% | |
| Average Time to Fund a Loan | 6.17 days | 9.12 days | |
| Average Dollars Raised Per Day Per Loan | $162.08 | $43.08 | |
| Average Loan Term | 23.81 months | 11.5 months |
Journaling Performance on Kiva
| This Lending Partner | All Kiva Partners | ||
| Total Journals | 0 | 1,222,764 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Journaling Rate | 0.00% | 41.92% | |
| Average Number of Comments Per Journal | 0.00 | 0.02 | |
| Average Number of Recommendations Per Journal | 0.00 | 0.55 |
Borrowing Cost Comparison (based on 2009 data)
| This Lending Partner | Median for MFI's in Country | All Kiva Partners | ||
| Average Cost to Borrower | N/A | N/A | 26.44% PY | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profitability (return on assets) | N/A | N/A | -1.70% | |
| Average Loan Size (% of per capita income) | N/A | N/A | 0.00% |
Country Fast Facts
- Country:
- Bolivia
- Capital:
- La Paz
- Official Language:
- Spanish
- Population:
- 10,631,486
- Avg Annual Income:
- $5,500
- Labor Force:
- agriculture: 32%, industry: 27.4%, services: 40.6%
- Population Below Poverty Line:
- 45.00%
- Literacy Rate:
- 91.20%
- Infant Mortality Rate (per 1000):
- 38.61 deaths
- Life Expectancy:
- 68.55 years