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Wokai was an organization that allowed people to contribute directly to
microfinance Microfinance consists of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses (SMEs) who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; saving ...
institutions in China, which in turn lend the money to entrepreneurs in rural China.Tiny loans, big difference at Bay Area Web site
/ref>"Role-reversal: Americans provide loans to Chinese - World Blog - msnbc.com"
/ref> It was a
501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...
non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
based in
Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...
, with core operations in
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
, supported by individual donors, corporate sponsors, fundraising events and grants."About" on Wokai.org
/ref> As of May 2012, Wokai concluded operations due to funding roadblocks and the need for a new CEO.


History

Wokai was founded in March 2007 by Casey Wilson and Courtney McColgan after they met studying at Tsinghua University in Beijing.China Calling : Facebook for China's Farmers
/ref> Wokai grew to a leadership team of five, a board of directors, and an Investment Committee in addition to numerous volunteers, part of chapters in cities including in Beijing, Boston, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Nanjing, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Shanghai, Toronto and Washington, D.C., London, Singapore, Bristol, Dallas and Atlanta."Team" on Wokai.org
/ref> Wokai also maintained a fellowship program called "Wokai Fellows", which allowed selected individuals to work directly with one of Wokai's field partners in rural China. Wokai's blog featured updates from the field through Wokai Fellows, profiles of Wokai volunteers from around the world, personal glimpses of rural Chinese life, and commentary about current developments in rural China and the microfinance sector. In May 2012, Wokai announced that it was concluding operations due to a variety of factors.


Activities

Wokai allowed accredited
microfinance Microfinance consists of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses (SMEs) who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; saving ...
institutions in China, called "Field Partners", to post profiles of qualified local
entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...
s on its website. Wokai had two Field Partners, the Association for Rural Development of Yilong County (ARDY), which is based in Sichuan, and Chifeng Zhaowuda Women's Sustainable Development Association (CZWSDA), in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia. Lenders browse and choose an entrepreneur they wish to fund. Wokai aggregates loan capital from individual lenders and transfers it to the appropriate Field Partners to disburse to the entrepreneur chosen by the lender. The average loan is around $300 and is used by low-income entrepreneurs to invest in simple business improvements such as adding additional livestock or buying new products for dry goods stores. As the entrepreneurs repay their loans, the Field Partners remit funds back to Wokai and the lender is alerted of this repayment."Bay Area Microfinance Reaches Rural Chinese : AsianWeek"
/ref> Once the loan was repaid, the Wokai lenders could redistribute it to another entrepreneur, up to a total of three loan cycles. Donors' funds were transferred to Wokai through Google Checkout."Help Center" on Wokai.org
/ref> Wokai's Field Partners charged interest rates between 15% and 20%. Field Partners used the interest from borrower loans to cover staff salaries, transportation, and operating costs.


Shutdown

As of May 1, 2012, Wokai is no longer in business. The organization sent letters to all the donors and posted a message on its website detailing the reasons for the shutdown. These included funding road blocks and an unmet need for a new CEO.


See also

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Microcredit Microcredit is the extension of very small loans (microloans) to impoverished borrowers who typically do not have access to traditional banking services due to a lack of collateral (finance), collateral, steady employment, and a verifiable credi ...
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Social entrepreneurship Social entrepreneurship is an approach by individuals, groups, Startup company, start-up companies or entrepreneurs, in which they develop, fund and implement solutions to social, cultural, or environmental issues. This concept may be applied to ...
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Kiva (organization) Kiva Microfunds is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in San Francisco, California. Kiva's mission is "to expand financial access to help underserved communities thrive." Kiva distributes funds that it receives to microfinance i ...


References

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External links


Wokai
- Official web site. Microfinance organizations Charities based in California Peer-to-peer charities Organizations established in 2007 Organizations based in Oakland, California Foreign charities operating in China