Status update — May 8, 2023

In 2019, the local regulator in Vietnam blocked M7 Microfinance from sending funds out of the country due to an issue with compliance with local regulations. Unfortunately, M7 has not been able to update their compliance and is still unable to send funds to Kiva. Kiva has worked with M7 to explore all options for sending funds, but there have been no viable options identified. Kiva’s assessment is that all options have been exhausted and thus the remaining $314,884.47 in outstanding amounts due to Kiva lenders has been defaulted. If Kiva is able to recover any additional funds from M7 in future, they will be applied to lenders' accounts on a pro-rata basis.


Status update — March 4, 2019

Kiva and M7 Microfinance Institution have agreed to temporarily pause their partnership. M7 is currently working to update their compliance with local regulation, during which time they will be unable to send funds out of Vietnam. Once this process is complete, M7 intends to make payment in full of all past due funds to Kiva lenders. Although the timeline for this process is hard to predict, M7 hopes to receive approval as soon as possible and we look forward to their return to the Kiva platform at that time.


Partner Description

M7-MFI is a microfinance institution in Vietnam that is focused on serving poor women and ethnic minorities in the northern part of the country.


The organization disburses loans to groups of up to five individuals in local communities. Loans are divided into three general categories, including short-term seasonal loans of six months, short loans of between nine and twelve months, and medium term loans of between 18 and 24 months. Additionally, M7-MFI provides gender education and business consulting services to clients in their homes and at group meetings.


A unique lending approach:


M7-MFI offers loans for several purposes, including obtaining capital for small businesses, assisting with education and health services, providing environmental protection, and providing access to specific resources for women.


In Vietnam, half of ethnic minorities still live under the poverty line. Challenges include gender inequality, family violence, and low education levels. M7-MFI aims to rise above these challenges by providing loans to this disadvantaged group. In­ addition, the organization regularly provides gender education and business consulting services, and builds homes for poor clients. With Kiva’s support, M7-MFI would like to meet existing demands from clients and expand operations.


Repayment Performance on Kiva

    This Lending Partner All Kiva Partners
  Start Date On Kiva Apr 11, 2014 Oct 12, 2005
Total Loans $3,432,850 $2,057,514,115
Amount of raised Inactive loans $0 $285,540
Number of raised Inactive loans 0 269
Amount of Paying Back Loans $0 $159,167,930
Number of Paying Back Loans 0 189,439
Amount of Ended Loans $3,432,850 $1,854,543,645
Number of Ended Loans 1,417 2,501,661
Delinquency Rate 0.00% 12.00%
Amount in Arrears $0 $11,843,658
Outstanding Portfolio $0 $98,704,273
Number of Loans Delinquent 0 63,344
Default Rate 9.30% 1.84%
Amount of Ended Loans Defaulted $319,273 $34,053,991
Number of Ended Loans Defaulted 303 91,293
Currency Exchange Loss Rate 0.00% 0.47%
Amount of Currency Exchange Loss $0 $12,820,983
Refund Rate 1.39% 0.55%
Amount of Refunded Loans $47,875 $11,262,720
Number of Refunded Loans 16 9,867

Loan Characteristics On Kiva

    This Lending Partner All Kiva Partners
  Loans to Women Borrowers 95.28% 78.50%
Average Loan Size $487 $393
Average Individual Loan Size $0 $585
Average Group Loan Size $2,429 $1,913
Average number of borrowers per group 5 8.3
Average GDP per capita (PPP) in local country $5,600 $5,592
Average Loan Size / GDP per capita (PPP) 8.69% 7.03%
Average Time to Fund a Loan 13.29 days 9.14 days
Average Dollars Raised Per Day Per Loan $36.61 $43.02
  Average Loan Term 13.66 months 11.5 months

Journaling Performance on Kiva

    This Lending Partner All Kiva Partners
  Total Journals 1,241 1,225,591
  Journaling Rate 87.30% 41.89%
  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 2017 data)

    This Lending Partner Median for MFI's in Country All Kiva Partners
  Average Cost to Borrower 26% APR 22.00% PY 26.61% PY
  Profitability (return on assets) 2.1% 7.2% -1.59%
  Average Loan Size (% of per capita income) N/A 11.00% 0.00%

Country Fast Facts

Lending Partner Staff