Zidisha was created to enable regular individuals to give highly motivated, computer-literate entrepreneurs the chance to overcome the dilemma of restrictive political and economic conditions and geographic remoteness that make it expensive for local banks to lend to small business owners by lending to the entrepreneurs under mutually beneficial credit terms.

All transactions are conducted directly between the lender and the borrower, without intermediaries. This results in lower interest rates, which Zidisha believes will translate into higher success rates for the entrepreneur, including success in repaying their loan. That, in turn, builds the entrepreneur's credit and enables the lenders to facilitate further loans to other entrepreneurs through Zidisha. 

To date, Zidisha has financed 175 businesses, with new businesses being financed nearly everyday. Zidisha has an average lender interest rate of 2.96% and Zidisha lenders have loaned a total of $96,873. The repayment rate is 99.58%. What makes the Zidisha particularly compelling is that lenders and borrowers can converse directly through the borrower's "profile page." In this way, borrowers can keep lenders up to date on their business and lenders can ask questions, give encouragement or just keep in touch with the borrower. Zidisha operates in Kenya and Senegal and is opening new sites in Burkina Faso and Indonesia in June 2011. 

If you are interested in lending with Zidisha or becoming a borrower, go to www.zidisha.org and create an account. Follow the simple instructions to upload money or apply for a loan and join the community!

Zidisha was founded in 2009 by Julia Kurnia. Julia began working to link entrepreneurs in poor countries with international peer-to-peer lending markets began in 2006, when she co-founded the Senegal Ecovillage Microfinance Fund, the world's first microfinance institution built on capital raised through P2P lending. Julia then went on to work in Kenya with MyC4 a P2P microfinance lending service based in Denmark. She now works as a Portfolio Analyst for the United States African Development Foundation during the day.