Kiva conducts regular, ongoing monitoring of all Lending Partners, but only posts status updates here in response to relevant, major changes at the partner.

Status update — June 20, 2016

Ensibuuko's partnership with Kiva has been closed. This decision was reached by both parties following closure of this organization’s credit program which was supported by Kiva funding.  

Ensibuuko was approved as an experimental partner in January 2014, with the purpose of financing farmers in rural Uganda. Between March and September 2014 , 57 farmers received Kiva loans worth $47,025. Loans helped farmers with inputs, labour costs and solar products. However, the loan program failed as farmers did not repay as expected due to drought and Ensibuuko struggled to track down farmers for payments. Kiva allowed Ensibuuko to pursue repayments for another 1.5 years following their initial delinquency, but only $5,000 has been recovered to date and Ensibuuko has shifted their focus to other aspects of their business.

Given the passage of time, all 57 loans worth $34,735 have been defaulted as of June 2016, as no further recovery is expected from these loans. 

Status update — April 22, 2016

Ensibuuko continues to be in violation of our restructured repayment plan as a result of liquidity challenges. Kiva remains in discussions with Ensibuuko and is working to recover lender funds.

Status update — June 10, 2015

Kiva and Ensibuuko recently agreed on a revised repayment schedule that would allow Ensibuuko to repay its outstanding balance to lenders over time, while it deals with liquidity challenges. Unfortunately, Ensibuuko is already in violation of this revised agreement, but Kiva will continue to advocate for our lenders to be repaid and we will continue to update this page with any new developments.

Status update — April 15, 2015

Kiva has decided to pause Ensibuuko's access to fundraising loans on the Kiva platform. Due to a current inability to access liquid assets, such as cash or short-term borrowing, this organization has been unable to repay Kiva lenders in full for repayments made by Kiva borrowers. Ensibuuko currently has $34,735 outstanding owed to Kiva lenders, $12,611 of which is past due. Kiva and Ensibuuko have agreed on a new repayment plan of $2,000 per month until the entire outstanding balance is repaid. Kiva will continue to pursue recovery of all outstanding funds and will pass those funds on to lenders as they're received. Ensibuuko will not be fundraising for new loans on the Kiva platform until this balance has been fully repaid.
 

Partner Description:

Ensibuuko is a for-profit organization that works with rural Ugandan farmers to provide them with access to farm inputs, market information, finance and solar products.

Established in 2011, the organization utilizes a mobile platform that includes a rural advisory network of extension workers, access to purchase inputs over the phone, secure loans for these inputs, and links a farmer’s produce to larger markets at harvest.

A unique lending approach:

Ensibuuko provides loans to farmers for agriculture inputs, including fertilizer and seeds, and solar products. Each individual farmer’s repayment schedule is structured to match the cash flows of his or her principal crops. Ensibuuko selects its borrowers from experienced farmers with a high level of integrity that have demonstrated leadership potential in their community. All Ensibuuko borrowers make a commitment to apply proper farming practices in their farms and agree to mentor and transfer skills to other farmers in their community. In this way, Ensibuuko is building a cohort of model farmers committed to mentor local farmers in their community.

Through the use of their mobile platform, Ensibuuko is also providing farmers with high quality inputs and market information they would otherwise not have access to. With a current reach of 35 districts, Ensibuuko intends to directly extent its services to 25,000 rural farmers in the next 5 years.

Because 90% of Ensibuuko’s borrowers are from off-grid communities, Kiva loans will also be used to help farmers acquire affordable solar systems for lighting and charging mobile phones so that they stay connected and productive. Kiva’s support will also allow the organization to extend loans to more rural farmers who are capable of increasing their production capacity.

Currently, Ensibuuko is reinvesting its profits into a farmer fund that will provide loans to women farmers who demonstrate the potential to grow and manage a rural-based processing plant.