Kepler is a non-profit higher education program that brings together innovations in learning and technology. Their curriculum blends online courses from leading international universities with intensive, in-person instruction, and employment-focused learning through structured internships. Its graduates all receive a U.S.-accredited degree thanks to a partnership with an American competency-based degree program. Kepler’s pilot campus opened in Rwanda in 2013, and its goal is to create a network of universities that deliver the skills that emerging economies need for a price that students across Africa can afford.

Kepler students are recruited from a pool of high-performing applicants from low-income backgrounds, most of whom would otherwise have no access to higher education. Many are orphans of the 1994 genocide. 
 
A unique lending approach:
 
Kepler’s loans fundraising on Kiva help students purchase laptops to support their education. Kepler relies on internet-based distance learning as a key component of a quality education in a country with limited educational resources. Kepler students are able to access lectures from the best professors across the world via internet provided on Kepler’s campus and student housing. Laptops also help students find gainful employment after completing their degrees.


Repayment Performance on Kiva

    This Lending Partner All Kiva Partners
  Start Date On Kiva Jul 14, 2015 Oct 12, 2005
Total Loans $801,750 $2,042,136,830
Amount of raised Inactive loans $0 $356,500
Number of raised Inactive loans 0 209
Amount of Paying Back Loans $399,575 $157,764,155
Number of Paying Back Loans 337 189,647
Amount of Ended Loans $402,175 $1,843,227,680
Number of Ended Loans 744 2,482,067
Delinquency Rate 0.00% 12.57%
Amount in Arrears $0 $12,137,711
Outstanding Portfolio $251,487 $96,544,828
Number of Loans Delinquent 0 65,899
Default Rate 0.00% 1.82%
Amount of Ended Loans Defaulted $0 $33,582,045
Number of Ended Loans Defaulted 0 88,667
Currency Exchange Loss Rate 1.51% 0.47%
Amount of Currency Exchange Loss $12,099 $12,608,670
Refund Rate 0.00% 0.54%
Amount of Refunded Loans $0 $10,935,995
Number of Refunded Loans 0 9,668

Loan Characteristics On Kiva

    This Lending Partner All Kiva Partners
  Loans to Women Borrowers 50.37% 78.46%
Average Loan Size $742 $393
Average Individual Loan Size $742 $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 $1,700 $5,594
Average Loan Size / GDP per capita (PPP) 43.63% 7.02%
Average Time to Fund a Loan 3.58 days 9.11 days
Average Dollars Raised Per Day Per Loan $207.45 $43.11
  Average Loan Term 39.11 months 11.5 months

Journaling Performance on Kiva

    This Lending Partner All Kiva Partners
  Total Journals 252 1,216,330
  Journaling Rate 20.00% 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 6% APR 31.00% PY 26.44% PY
  Profitability (return on assets) -16.04% -3.2% -1.32%
  Average Loan Size (% of per capita income) N/A 81.00% 0.00%

Country Fast Facts

Lending Partner Staff

Peter Saad
Sylvestre SAMVURA
Christine Sesay