Last updated May 30, 2018

Partner Description: 

Novica is an e-commerce website that allows artisans around the world to sell unique, high-quality goods directly to consumers. These goods include home furnishings, apparel, jewelry, ceramics, art, and more -- items that would often never make it to international markets at the prices Novica pays to artisans (and offers to consumers).

By providing detailed information and stories about each artisan, Novica cuts out middle-men and establishes direct global connections that support entrepreneurs and small businesses in Indonesia, the Andes, Mexico, Brazil, Central America, India, Thailand, and West Africa.

To supply artisans with working capital to grow their businesses, Novica launched an Artisan Loan Program in 2010. This platform allows the internet community to fund small, zero-interest loans for artisans. These loans -- ranging between USD$150 and $2,900 -- are repaid to lenders, who can then re-lend as many times as they want. As of early 2012, Novica had funded $200,000 in artisan loans.

Kiva is a natural partner for Novica. While some loans will continue to be funded directly on the Novica site, many new loans will be posted to the Kiva website so that Kiva lenders can help grow and expand this important loan program. These loans will give Kiva lenders the unique ability to buy goods produced by the entrepreneurs they support, deepening the lender-borrower connection.

Repayments on Novica loans are tied to artisan revenue. This means that if an artisan has a good month, they will pay back more -- or less during slower months. To accommodate this, Kiva will make all repayments due at the end of loan terms, averaging three to 24 months. Any repayments received before these deadlines will be considered pre-payments, but will still be distributed to lenders as usual.

Kiva’s flexible loan terms will allow more artisans to borrow the money they need to build their inventories, set up shop outside their homes, and even hire employees. This will amplify Novica’s mission to give artists the support they need to express their creativity and preserve cultural traditions while maximizing their income.


Repayment Performance on Kiva

    This Lending Partner All Kiva Partners
  Start Date On Kiva Jun 6, 2012 Oct 12, 2005
Total Loans $3,389,425 $2,044,253,980
Amount of raised Inactive loans $5,700 $277,825
Number of raised Inactive loans 3 146
Amount of Paying Back Loans $376,600 $159,648,240
Number of Paying Back Loans 152 192,147
Amount of Ended Loans $3,007,125 $1,843,441,735
Number of Ended Loans 1,651 2,482,293
Delinquency Rate 5.25% 12.19%
Amount in Arrears $15,655 $12,026,707
Outstanding Portfolio $256,203 $98,620,847
Number of Loans Delinquent 22 65,671
Default Rate 0.01% 1.83%
Amount of Ended Loans Defaulted $167 $33,700,785
Number of Ended Loans Defaulted 2 88,892
Currency Exchange Loss Rate 0.00% 0.47%
Amount of Currency Exchange Loss $0 $12,608,670
Refund Rate 0.45% 0.53%
Amount of Refunded Loans $15,300 $10,936,620
Number of Refunded Loans 7 9,669

Loan Characteristics On Kiva

    This Lending Partner All Kiva Partners
  Loans to Women Borrowers 34.65% 78.46%
Average Loan Size $1,878 $393
Average Individual Loan Size $1,878 $586
Average Group Loan Size $0 $1,910
Average number of borrowers per group 0 8.3
Average GDP per capita (PPP) in local country $4,800 $5,593
Average Loan Size / GDP per capita (PPP) 39.12% 7.02%
Average Time to Fund a Loan 3.35 days 9.11 days
Average Dollars Raised Per Day Per Loan $560.53 $43.10
  Average Loan Term 9.44 months 11.5 months

Journaling Performance on Kiva

    This Lending Partner All Kiva Partners
  Total Journals 6,879 1,218,509
  Journaling Rate 86.92% 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 0% APR N/A 26.44% PY
  Profitability (return on assets) -4.35% N/A -1.35%
  Average Loan Size (% of per capita income) N/A N/A 0.00%

Country Fast Facts

Lending Partner Staff

Andy Milk
Robert Sovinsky
Susan Taylor