Root Capital
Kiva conducts regular, ongoing monitoring of all Lending Partners but only posts status updates here in response to relevant, significant changes at the partner.
Founded in 1999 by Willy Foote, Root Capital is a non-profit social investment fund that grows rural prosperity in poor, environmentally vulnerable places in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia by lending capital to small and growing agricultural businesses.
Root Capital expands access to finance for enterprises whose credit needs are too big for microfinance and risky for commercial banks. They pair this credit with customized training in financial management, governance, and agronomic capacity. In addition, the firm provides a variety of loan products. To date, Root Capital has lent $1.6 billion to over 750 enterprises reaching 2.4 million farm families (over 10 million people) and provided training to more than 1,625 enterprises. In partnership with agricultural enterprises, they increase rural livelihoods, create jobs for young people, level the playing field for women, and help farmers adapt to climate change in some of the world’s most vulnerable ecosystems.
A unique lending approach:
Root Capital uses Kiva financing to offer short-term loans to younger agricultural businesses or cooperatives in Nicaragua and Perú, whose credit needs fall below the current Root Capital loan size guideline.
Repayment Performance on Kiva
This Lending Partner | All Kiva Partners | ||
Start Date On Kiva | Sep 20, 2022 | Oct 12, 2005 | |
---|---|---|---|
Total Loans | $650,020 | $1,962,636,330 | |
Amount of raised Inactive loans | $0 | $715,425 | |
Number of raised Inactive loans | 0 | 485 | |
Amount of Paying Back Loans | $300,000 | $155,418,235 | |
Number of Paying Back Loans | 2 | 181,139 | |
Amount of Ended Loans | $350,020 | $1,775,906,450 | |
Number of Ended Loans | 3 | 2,383,039 | |
Delinquency Rate | 0.00% | 11.39% | |
Amount in Arrears | $0 | $10,640,926 | |
Outstanding Portfolio | $300,000 | $93,458,977 | |
Number of Loans Delinquent | 0 | 44,447 | |
Default Rate | 0.00% | 1.82% | |
Amount of Ended Loans Defaulted | $0 | $32,352,443 | |
Number of Ended Loans Defaulted | 0 | 84,926 | |
Currency Exchange Loss Rate | 0.00% | 0.49% | |
Amount of Currency Exchange Loss | $0 | $12,028,211 | |
Refund Rate | 0.00% | 0.54% | |
Amount of Refunded Loans | $0 | $10,528,825 | |
Number of Refunded Loans | 0 | 9,602 |
Loan Characteristics On Kiva
This Lending Partner | All Kiva Partners | ||
Loans to Women Borrowers | 40.00% | 78.24% | |
---|---|---|---|
Average Loan Size | $130,004 | $392 | |
Average Individual Loan Size | $130,004 | $589 | |
Average Group Loan Size | $0 | $1,893 | |
Average number of borrowers per group | 0 | 8.3 | |
Average GDP per capita (PPP) in local country | $4,800 | $5,599 | |
Average Loan Size / GDP per capita (PPP) | 2,708.42% | 7.00% | |
Average Time to Fund a Loan | 41.74 days | 8.94 days | |
Average Dollars Raised Per Day Per Loan | $3,114.45 | $43.85 | |
Average Loan Term | 7 months | 11.47 months |
Journaling Performance on Kiva
This Lending Partner | All Kiva Partners | ||
Total Journals | 1 | 1,181,853 | |
---|---|---|---|
Journaling Rate | 20.00% | 42.25% | |
Average Number of Comments Per Journal | 0.00 | 0.02 | |
Average Number of Recommendations Per Journal | 0.00 | 0.57 |
Borrowing Cost Comparison (based on 2022 data)
This Lending Partner | Median for MFI's in Country | All Kiva Partners | ||
Average Cost to Borrower | N/A | N/A | 27.02% PY | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Profitability (return on assets) | 25.6% | N/A | -3.03% | |
Average Loan Size (% of per capita income) | N/A | N/A | 0.00% |
Country Fast Facts
- Country:
- Nicaragua
- Capital:
- Managua
- Official Language:
- Spanish (official) 95.3%, Miskito 2.2%, Mestizo of the Caribbean coast 2%, other 0.5%
- Population:
- 5,848,641
- Avg Annual Income:
- $4,800
- Labor Force:
- agriculture: 31%, industry: 18%, services: 50%
- Population Below Poverty Line:
- 42.50%
- Literacy Rate:
- 82.90%
- Infant Mortality Rate (per 1000):
- 20.36 deaths
- Life Expectancy:
- 57.48 years
Lending Partner Staff
Dania ÁlvarezElsa Cortijo