myAgro
Kiva conducts regular, ongoing monitoring of all Lending Partners, but only posts status updates here in response to relevant, major changes at the partner.
Status update — August 31, 2017
After 4 years of collaboration, Kiva and myAgro have decided to end their partnership. myAgro's loans have had an excellent repayment on Kiva, however myAgro's business model is such that the partnership will be operationally challenging to scale. Lender funds have been critical in allowing myAgro to build a credit history that the organization is now leveraging to gain access to working capital that's a better fit with its operational model. Kiva thanks myAgro for its collaboration over the years and continued dedication to supporting Malian farmers in gaining access to affordable inputs and equipment.
Partner description:
myAgro is a startup nonprofit organization in West Africa that enables farmers to purchase high-quality agricultural inputs (certified seeds and fertilizer) on layaway through an SMS-based platform and a network of local vendors. myAgro helps farmers to increase their crop yields by using modern planting techniques and providing access to simple agricultural machines that can make their work more effective and more profitable.
Mali is one of the world's poorest 15 countries. Small-scale farmers make up 70% of its population, and the majority are among the world's poorest 2 billion people. Like in many other countries in Africa, farmers in Mali own tracts of land which they use to grow enough to eat. Their harvest yields are often low (1 ton per hectare) due to low quality inputs and poor planting techniques. As a result, small-scale farmers in Africa harvest a third as much as their counterparts in South Africa and Latin America.
myAgro targets small-scale farmers who have trouble feeding their families throughout the year and are trapped in a cycle of poverty due to consistently poor harvest yields. Kiva lenders’ funds are used to help these farmers afford more effective seeding machines through loans with low interest rates so that they can increase their yields and improve their quality of life.
A unique lending approach:
myAgro uses the microdosing fertilizer method (using a bottle cap of fertilizer per seed hole) pioneered by ICRISAT, an agricultural research organization that helps farmers save money on inputs and enables them to increase their harvests by an average of 100%. In the past, this method had a low rate of adoption because it requires a lot of time and backbreaking labor. For example, one hectare of maize contains 33,000 seed holes.
Now, the new seeding machines enable farmers to drop fertilizer and seeds at the same time at the correct distance and depth, enabling farmers to use this important technique in a tenth of the time. This adds up to over $100 in savings per hectare for input costs and approximately $240 per hectare in saved labor costs each year.
myAgro also provides technical training for farmers and market access for their goods to enable them to sell extra produce at a higher profit margin.
The organization has received multiple awards for its innovative mobile savings model, including competitive social entrepreneurship awards from Rainer Arnhold, Echoing Green and the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation.
If you are interested in myAgro's work, you can join the Friends of myAgro lending team, or visit myAgro's website.Repayment Performance on Kiva
This Lending Partner | All Kiva Partners | ||
Start Date On Kiva | Jul 9, 2013 | Oct 12, 2005 | |
---|---|---|---|
Total Loans | $342,700 | $2,046,857,240 | |
Amount of raised Inactive loans | $0 | $329,125 | |
Number of raised Inactive loans | 0 | 224 | |
Amount of Paying Back Loans | $0 | $154,628,025 | |
Number of Paying Back Loans | 0 | 186,271 | |
Amount of Ended Loans | $342,700 | $1,851,013,910 | |
Number of Ended Loans | 1,035 | 2,491,542 | |
Delinquency Rate | 0.00% | 12.11% | |
Amount in Arrears | $0 | $11,277,316 | |
Outstanding Portfolio | $0 | $93,149,537 | |
Number of Loans Delinquent | 0 | 54,545 | |
Default Rate | 0.00% | 1.82% | |
Amount of Ended Loans Defaulted | $0 | $33,742,451 | |
Number of Ended Loans Defaulted | 0 | 88,997 | |
Currency Exchange Loss Rate | 0.01% | 0.47% | |
Amount of Currency Exchange Loss | $20 | $12,725,634 | |
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 | 66.60% | 78.48% | |
---|---|---|---|
Average Loan Size | $40 | $393 | |
Average Individual Loan Size | $213 | $586 | |
Average Group Loan Size | $343 | $1,910 | |
Average number of borrowers per group | 9 | 8.3 | |
Average GDP per capita (PPP) in local country | $1,100 | $5,593 | |
Average Loan Size / GDP per capita (PPP) | 3.62% | 7.02% | |
Average Time to Fund a Loan | 0.49 days | 9.12 days | |
Average Dollars Raised Per Day Per Loan | $81.33 | $43.09 | |
Average Loan Term | 3.36 months | 11.5 months |
Journaling Performance on Kiva
This Lending Partner | All Kiva Partners | ||
Total Journals | 918 | 1,221,186 | |
---|---|---|---|
Journaling Rate | 85.60% | 41.91% | |
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 | 24.00% PY | 26.44% PY | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Profitability (return on assets) | N/A | 0.5% | -1.28% | |
Average Loan Size (% of per capita income) | N/A | 26.00% | 0.00% |
Country Fast Facts
- Country:
- Mali
- Capital:
- Bamako
- Official Language:
- French (official), Bambara 46.3%
- Population:
- 16,455,903
- Avg Annual Income:
- $1,100
- Labor Force:
- agriculture: 80%, industry and services: 20%
- Population Below Poverty Line:
- 36.10%
- Literacy Rate:
- 33.40%
- Infant Mortality Rate (per 1000):
- 104.34 deaths
- Life Expectancy:
- 54.95 years