Vittana was a non-governmental organization that allowed people to lend money via the Internet to students in the developing world.[1] It was a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in Seattle.[2] Vittana focused on student loans because student loans are nearly unavailable in developing countries.[3]
The loans issued by Vittana ranged from $200 to $1,500 and were funded by individual lenders through Kiva's lending platform and Vittana's funds.[1] Students were given cash advances for educational expenses before money from donors had been collected.[4]
The cash advance provided by a partner organization was covered when Kiva, or Vittana had aggregated sufficient money from donors.[5] A mother or a close relative acted as a co-signer.[3] The recipient of the loan could repay the loan after landing a job.[5] Vittana students had a 98% repayment rate.[1]
Vittana ceased operations in 2014.[6]
External links
References
- Leena Rao. Vittana Applies The Kiva Model To Help Finance Education In Developing Countries TechCrunch, 2010-03-15, retrieved 2024-04-09^
- About retrieved 2024-04-09^
- A. Villiani, Storytelling: Tall Tales On Online Platforms? Viewed on 11 Mar 2011, http://beyondprofit.com/storytelling-tall-tales-on-online-platforms/^
- Vittana FAQ from http://www.vittana.org/about/faq^
- How it works. (n.d.) Retrieved March 9, 2011, from http://www.vittana.org/howitworks^
- Taylor Soper. Educational microloan non-profit Vittana shutting down GeekWire, 29 August 2014, retrieved 23 February 2016^