I grew up in Rwanda. I came to the United States in 2011 seeking a better life and am now a naturalized U.S. citizen. While in Rwanda, I survived the genocide that took the lives of close to 800,000 people. This experience led to my desire to do my part to make the world a better place. This then led me to enroll in law school at the University of Maine in order to be equipped for the work of defending other people's basic rights. While at law school, I was a student attorney at the Refugee and Human Rights Clinic, representing immigrants who were seeking legal status in the United States. One such client was a human rights defender who had fled the Democratic Republic of the Congo after threats to his life. A fellow student attorney at the clinic and I were able to win this case at immigration court after the client waited more than six years for his day in court. Realizing how this changed this man's life, allowing him to be reunited with his family that he had left in Africa, I decided to create a reduced-fee law practice for low-income immigrants focusing on asylum and family reunification cases.
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A loan helped a reduced-fee law firm continue to represent low-income immigrants.
Felix's story
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Business Description
Hagenimana Law PLLC was started as a small-fee law firm to bridge the gap of unrepresented individuals at immigration court hearings. Nationally, only 37 percent of all immigrants, and 14 percent of detained immigrants, secured legal representation. Unlike indigent criminal defendants who are entitled to an attorney at the government's expense, deportation is not considered a punishment and those who are unable to procure legal counsel must represent themselves while the government is represented by experienced attorneys in the process. This was one of the reasons why Hagenimana Law PLLC was started. We provide low-bono-fee legal services and offer free consultations for cases we are unable to take. Since its beginning in 2019, Hagenimana Law has about 100 open cases, many of which are asylum cases. We have won asylum for many of our clients at a fraction of the costs that they would have had to pay to other law firms. We find a lot of joy and pride in being able to do this and offer this service to people who would not otherwise afford it.
What is the purpose of this loan?
Our practice, like many other small businesses, was hit very hard by COVID-19. This has created additional work that we could not have anticipated. In addition, the Trump Administration's restrictive immigration policies have made our work increasingly difficult and time consuming. Remote operations coupled with inactivity at the immigration courts and USCIS have made it extremely difficult to take on new matters. Many clients of ours were coming with visas and, over the last two years, very few people have been able to secure visas. All of this has led to financial difficulties.
Loan details
Loan length:
Repayment schedule
Monthly: One repayment made per month
End of term: One repayment made at the end of the loan term
Irregular: Any other repayment schedule
To see a detailed repayment schedule for a specific loan, click the "Repayment schedule" link on the loan profile under "Loan details."
What is the disbursed date?
In the case of partner loans, many of our Lending Partners choose to disburse loan funds before the loan request is posted on Kiva. We allow pre-disbursal because it ensures that the funds reach the borrower as soon as they are needed. Loan funds from Kiva lenders then go to backfill that amount and as a lender you assume the risk of the loan. By doing this, our Lending Partners assume the risk that, if the loan isn't funded by lenders, they will have to fund the loan without any funds from Kiva.
If a partner loan is not pre-disbursed, it will be listed on Kiva with an expected "post-disbursed" date. If a post-disbursed loan is not funded on Kiva, there is a chance that the borrower may not receive their loan. Some Lending Partners choose to disburse loans with other sources of funding, while other partners don't have the resources available to fund loans without Kiva lenders' support. No direct loans will be disbursed unless they fully fundraise on Kiva.
Funding model
What does "Partner covers currency loss" mean & how could it affect my Kiva loans?
Potential for currency exchange loss is noted on every loan profile under the loan details:
"Yes" means the Lending Partner will cover any currency loss. Lenders will not bear losses due to currency fluctuation
"Partial" means that the Lending Partner has opted to cover losses only up to 10%. If the U.S. dollar appreciates more than 10% against the local currency, those losses will be passed onto lenders.
"No" means that the Lending Partner is not covering any currency losses and all losses will be passed onto lenders.
"N/A" means the Lending Partner disburses loans to borrowers in USD so their loans are not subject to any currency fluctuation.
Do Kiva borrowers pay any interest on their loans?
Our partners collect interest from borrowers because there are many operational expenses associated with microfinance in developing markets, especially in rural areas. Many of Kiva's Lending Partners also provide additional services alongside their loan products such as business training, financial literacy lessons, or health services.
Kiva will not partner with an organization that charges unreasonable interest rates, and we require Lending Partners to fully disclose their rates. In addition, we only partner with microfinance institutions and organizations that have a social mission to serve the poor, unbanked, and underserved.
There are some 0% interest loans on Kiva, including all direct loans in the United States. To learn more about the interest rates Kiva borrowers pay, you can review the "Average cost to borrower" field on a loan profile.
We also encourage you to read the following articles if you are interested in further educating yourself on the topic: Microfinance 101 (https://www.kiva.org/microfinance), Top 10 things to know about microfinance (https://www.kiva.org/blog/top-10-things-to-know-about-microfinance), Microfinance interest rates explained (https://www.kiva.org/blog/whats-up-with-microfinance-interest-rates)
What is a risk rating?
The Lending Partner risk rating reflects the risk of institutional default associated with each of Kiva’s Lending Partners. A 0.5-star rating means the organization has a relatively higher risk of institutional default, while a 5-star rating indicates the organization is at a relatively lower risk of default, based on Kiva's analysis and the available information displayed in the Lending Partner section of every loan. Lending Partners with the lowest credit tier undergo a lighter level of due diligence and do not receive a risk rating; instead, in places where a risk rating would normally appear, these partners are labeled as “Experimental.” For more information, see "What is an Experimental Lending Partner?"
Direct loans also do not receive a formal risk rating. Instead, these loans are approved through “social underwriting”, where trustworthiness is determined by friends & family lending a portion of the loan request, or by a Kiva approved Trustee vouching for the borrower. Direct loans will appear as "Unrated" and lenders should always assume these loans represent the highest level of repayment risk on Kiva.
How are loans facilitated?
Kiva loans are facilitated through 2 models, partner and direct, that enable us to reach the greatest number of people around the world.
For partner loans, borrowers apply to a local Lending Partner, which manages the loan on the ground. Lending Partners are responsible for screening borrowers, disbursing loans, posting borrowers to the Kiva website for funding, collecting repayments and otherwise administering Kiva loans on the ground to borrowers.
For direct loans, borrowers apply through the Kiva website and may or may not be endorsed by a Trustee. Unlike Lending Partners, Trustees don't handle any financial transactions or have any duty to repay loans on behalf of their borrowers. Instead, Trustees take the role of providing support and business advice to their borrowers throughout the term of the loan.
More information about successive and concurrent loans
Most borrowers take out loans consecutively, meaning that they receive a second loan after having repaid the first. However, sometimes our Lending Partners give out concurrent loans, allowing borrowers to take out one primary loan and a secondary "add-on" loan along with it. These additional loans are typically smaller than the borrower's primary loan and serve a different purpose. We trust our partners to determine whether a borrower has the means to be able to repay a successive or concurrent loan.
About HAGENIMANA LAW PLLC
Industry: Services
Years in operation: 3 years - 5 years
Website: hagenimanalaw.com
Lenders and lending teams
Country: United States
Trustee: Mona
What are Trustee tiers?
For for more information about Trustee tiers, visit: kivaushub.org/trustee-tiers
Why are you endorsing Felix?
Felix is an attorney who represents immigrants seeking to build a new life in America, using a low-fee model that creates access to justice for those who simply could not attain it otherwise. There is a major representation gap for immigrants in America, and in particular asylum seekers. Yet in immigration court, those without representation are dramatically less likely to be successful in pleading their cases, due to lack of legal knowledge, language barriers, and sometimes trauma (especially in the case of asylum seekers). This means that, quite literally, Felix's representation is the difference between an asylum seeker being wrongfully returned back to danger in her home country and being fully heard in court and thus granted refugee status that allows her to safely start a new life. As an individual who fled the Rwandan genocide and settled in the U.S., where he attended law school, Felix intimately knows the situations facing his clients and is a powerful, empathetic advocate for them. His law firm's low-fee model is critical to reaching so many who have no access to the courts today. Felix has built his law practice and now needs support as he overcomes the challenges confronted by COVID and recent restrictive immigration policies. His practice is set to come back stronger with this support, as COVID continues to be beaten back and immigration policies become more open.
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Loan tags help lenders find loans that match certain areas of interest.
Loan details
Loan length:
Repayment schedule
Monthly: One repayment made per month
End of term: One repayment made at the end of the loan term
Irregular: Any other repayment schedule
To see a detailed repayment schedule for a specific loan, click the "Repayment schedule" link on the loan profile under "Loan details."
What is the disbursed date?
In the case of partner loans, many of our Lending Partners choose to disburse loan funds before the loan request is posted on Kiva. We allow pre-disbursal because it ensures that the funds reach the borrower as soon as they are needed. Loan funds from Kiva lenders then go to backfill that amount and as a lender you assume the risk of the loan. By doing this, our Lending Partners assume the risk that, if the loan isn't funded by lenders, they will have to fund the loan without any funds from Kiva.
If a partner loan is not pre-disbursed, it will be listed on Kiva with an expected "post-disbursed" date. If a post-disbursed loan is not funded on Kiva, there is a chance that the borrower may not receive their loan. Some Lending Partners choose to disburse loans with other sources of funding, while other partners don't have the resources available to fund loans without Kiva lenders' support. No direct loans will be disbursed unless they fully fundraise on Kiva.
Funding model
What does "Partner covers currency loss" mean & how could it affect my Kiva loans?
Potential for currency exchange loss is noted on every loan profile under the loan details:
"Yes" means the Lending Partner will cover any currency loss. Lenders will not bear losses due to currency fluctuation
"Partial" means that the Lending Partner has opted to cover losses only up to 10%. If the U.S. dollar appreciates more than 10% against the local currency, those losses will be passed onto lenders.
"No" means that the Lending Partner is not covering any currency losses and all losses will be passed onto lenders.
"N/A" means the Lending Partner disburses loans to borrowers in USD so their loans are not subject to any currency fluctuation.
Do Kiva borrowers pay any interest on their loans?
Our partners collect interest from borrowers because there are many operational expenses associated with microfinance in developing markets, especially in rural areas. Many of Kiva's Lending Partners also provide additional services alongside their loan products such as business training, financial literacy lessons, or health services.
Kiva will not partner with an organization that charges unreasonable interest rates, and we require Lending Partners to fully disclose their rates. In addition, we only partner with microfinance institutions and organizations that have a social mission to serve the poor, unbanked, and underserved.
There are some 0% interest loans on Kiva, including all direct loans in the United States. To learn more about the interest rates Kiva borrowers pay, you can review the "Average cost to borrower" field on a loan profile.
We also encourage you to read the following articles if you are interested in further educating yourself on the topic: Microfinance 101 (https://www.kiva.org/microfinance), Top 10 things to know about microfinance (https://www.kiva.org/blog/top-10-things-to-know-about-microfinance), Microfinance interest rates explained (https://www.kiva.org/blog/whats-up-with-microfinance-interest-rates)
What is a risk rating?
The Lending Partner risk rating reflects the risk of institutional default associated with each of Kiva’s Lending Partners. A 0.5-star rating means the organization has a relatively higher risk of institutional default, while a 5-star rating indicates the organization is at a relatively lower risk of default, based on Kiva's analysis and the available information displayed in the Lending Partner section of every loan. Lending Partners with the lowest credit tier undergo a lighter level of due diligence and do not receive a risk rating; instead, in places where a risk rating would normally appear, these partners are labeled as “Experimental.” For more information, see "What is an Experimental Lending Partner?"
Direct loans also do not receive a formal risk rating. Instead, these loans are approved through “social underwriting”, where trustworthiness is determined by friends & family lending a portion of the loan request, or by a Kiva approved Trustee vouching for the borrower. Direct loans will appear as "Unrated" and lenders should always assume these loans represent the highest level of repayment risk on Kiva.
How are loans facilitated?
Kiva loans are facilitated through 2 models, partner and direct, that enable us to reach the greatest number of people around the world.
For partner loans, borrowers apply to a local Lending Partner, which manages the loan on the ground. Lending Partners are responsible for screening borrowers, disbursing loans, posting borrowers to the Kiva website for funding, collecting repayments and otherwise administering Kiva loans on the ground to borrowers.
For direct loans, borrowers apply through the Kiva website and may or may not be endorsed by a Trustee. Unlike Lending Partners, Trustees don't handle any financial transactions or have any duty to repay loans on behalf of their borrowers. Instead, Trustees take the role of providing support and business advice to their borrowers throughout the term of the loan.
More information about successive and concurrent loans
Most borrowers take out loans consecutively, meaning that they receive a second loan after having repaid the first. However, sometimes our Lending Partners give out concurrent loans, allowing borrowers to take out one primary loan and a secondary "add-on" loan along with it. These additional loans are typically smaller than the borrower's primary loan and serve a different purpose. We trust our partners to determine whether a borrower has the means to be able to repay a successive or concurrent loan.
Trustee: Mona
What are Trustee tiers?
For for more information about Trustee tiers, visit: kivaushub.org/trustee-tiers
Why are you endorsing Felix?
Felix is an attorney who represents immigrants seeking to build a new life in America, using a low-fee model that creates access to justice for those who simply could not attain it otherwise. There is a major representation gap for immigrants in America, and in particular asylum seekers. Yet in immigration court, those without representation are dramatically less likely to be successful in pleading their cases, due to lack of legal knowledge, language barriers, and sometimes trauma (especially in the case of asylum seekers). This means that, quite literally, Felix's representation is the difference between an asylum seeker being wrongfully returned back to danger in her home country and being fully heard in court and thus granted refugee status that allows her to safely start a new life. As an individual who fled the Rwandan genocide and settled in the U.S., where he attended law school, Felix intimately knows the situations facing his clients and is a powerful, empathetic advocate for them. His law firm's low-fee model is critical to reaching so many who have no access to the courts today. Felix has built his law practice and now needs support as he overcomes the challenges confronted by COVID and recent restrictive immigration policies. His practice is set to come back stronger with this support, as COVID continues to be beaten back and immigration policies become more open.
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