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 15, 2018

Kiva and Asante Foundation have agreed to end their partnership, as the organization is no longer in need of Kiva funding. Asante Foundation has fully paid its outstanding balance to Kiva, and these funds have been distributed to the lenders. Kiva thanks Asante Foundation for its partnership.

Partner description:

Asante Kenya Foundation is a social venture fund that invests financial and managerial support in social business startups in Kenya. The fund was designed to foster self-reliance in poor, rural communities, and has worked extensively with entrepreneurs in Kenya’s south coastal region.

In particular, the foundation works closely with smallholder farmers to help them utilize their land for maximum value with a micro-investment and to improve their financial security.

A unique lending approach:

Asante Kenya Foundation, in partnership with several organizations is piloting a new type of loan for smallholder rural farmers in southern Kenya to grow eucalyptus trees. By planting trees, Asante Kenya Foundation eases market pressure on indigenous forests while improving the degraded land on which farmers depend.

The loans will be in-kind, consisting of training, seedlings, fertilizer, and access to tractor and bed maker equipment. When the eucalyptus logs, biomass and essential oils are harvested, the foundation provides access to markets for the farmers.

While farmers are waiting for their eucalyptus trees to mature, short-term production of ginger root essential oil and moringa trees ensures a regular source of cash flow. All of a farmer’s ginger root and moringa harvest is bought by Asante Kenya Foundation and then sold to a number of buyers who's commitment is to source raw materials from smallholder farmers to impact rural communities.

Learning is facilitated through demonstration farms and contracts with large international organizations to ensure fair pricing, long-term sustainability and access to new markets.


Repayment Performance on Kiva

    This Lending Partner All Kiva Partners
  Start Date On Kiva Mar 29, 2016 Oct 12, 2005
Total Loans $49,800 $2,056,238,590
Amount of raised Inactive loans $0 $277,355
Number of raised Inactive loans 0 253
Amount of Paying Back Loans $500 $158,100,775
Number of Paying Back Loans 1 187,973
Amount of Ended Loans $49,300 $1,854,343,460
Number of Ended Loans 151 2,501,455
Delinquency Rate 100.00% 12.27%
Amount in Arrears $500 $11,965,982
Outstanding Portfolio $0 $97,560,700
Number of Loans Delinquent 1 63,552
Default Rate 0.00% 1.84%
Amount of Ended Loans Defaulted $0 $34,038,827
Number of Ended Loans Defaulted 0 91,258
Currency Exchange Loss Rate 0.00% 0.47%
Amount of Currency Exchange Loss $0 $12,742,203
Refund Rate 0.60% 0.55%
Amount of Refunded Loans $300 $11,261,520
Number of Refunded Loans 1 9,866

Loan Characteristics On Kiva

    This Lending Partner All Kiva Partners
  Loans to Women Borrowers 55.79% 78.49%
Average Loan Size $327 $393
Average Individual Loan Size $327 $585
Average Group Loan Size $0 $1,913
Average number of borrowers per group 0 8.3
Average GDP per capita (PPP) in local country $1,800 $5,592
Average Loan Size / GDP per capita (PPP) 18.19% 7.03%
Average Time to Fund a Loan 13.03 days 9.13 days
Average Dollars Raised Per Day Per Loan $25.14 $43.04
  Average Loan Term 12.38 months 11.5 months

Journaling Performance on Kiva

    This Lending Partner All Kiva Partners
  Total Journals 0 1,224,773
  Journaling Rate 0.00% 41.91%
  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 2016 data)

    This Lending Partner Median for MFI's in Country All Kiva Partners
  Average Cost to Borrower 6% APR 36.00% PY 26.61% PY
  Profitability (return on assets) -12.1% 0.5% -1.37%
  Average Loan Size (% of per capita income) N/A 56.00% 0.00%

Country Fast Facts

Lending Partner Staff