Status Update, Sept. 26, 2014:

Kiva and TYM Fund have agreed to end their partnership after more than $1.5 million in loans raised. This Lending Partner has repaid its outstanding balance to Kiva in full, and these funds have been distributed to lenders. We thank TYM Fund for the years of collaboration and wish them success in their future endeavors.
   
Partner Description:

TYM Fund -- which stands for "Tao Yeu May,” or “people loving people” in Vietnamese -- is Vietnam’s first licensed microfinance institution. Founded in 1992 by the Vietnamese Women’s Union to put the government’s poverty alleviation program into action, TYM aims to replicate the Grameen Bank’s model of micro-lending.

With financial and technical support from a number of international organizations, including CARD, the Ford Foundation, CORDAID, Cashpor and Oxfam America, TYM has grown in its 20 years of operation to operate in 10 North Vietnamese provinces. Having assisted more than 55,000 women, the TYM Fund has contributed to the Vietnamese Women’s Union’s objectives of improving women’s economic development, living conditions, and general equality.

A challenging bureaucratic and legal environment makes it difficult to operate in the country, but TYM plans to expand its outreach and deepen its strategic commitment to impoverished women. The organization aims to reach 185,000 clients by 2016.

TYM’s unique lending approach:

TYM recruits women with incomes below the Vietnamese poverty line to become members of their local TYM centers. Members form groups of 5 that undergo basic business and financial training before becoming eligible to receive loans.

Once they are qualifed, these groups receive loans with very low interest rates that are disbursed cyclically, up to a maximum of US$1,250. TYM also requires members to contribute to a compulsory savings account and to a Mutual Assistance Fund to support other members’ emergency expenses. The organization plans to eventually formalize this account as a standard insurance fund. Additionally, TYM offers loans with longer than average repayment periodsfor members looking to start new and long-term businesses like livestock raising or handicrafts.



All TYM services are provided at weekly or monthly center meetings, where loan applications are discussed and approved and repayments and savings collected. The center also serves as a meeting place for members to convene and discuss business development, and for staff to conduct educational trainings on family, gender, and health issues.



TYM members participate in business development trainings.

Status Update - June 2, 2010

TYM has requested to pay its current and late loans to Kiva on June 30, 2010 in order to manage cashflows inside the organization. Kiva is working with TYM to ensure more timely payments in the future.

Status Update - May 26, 2010

TYM’s delinquency rate is high for the current month. TYM has faithfully repaid Kiva in the past, but occasionally 30 to 60 days late. Kiva is working with TYM to facilitate more timely repayments. Additionally, TYM has slowed down its fundraising with Kiva since September 2009.

All images courtesy of TYM Fund

Repayment Performance on Kiva

    This Lending Partner All Kiva Partners
  Start Date On Kiva Jun 24, 2007 Oct 12, 2005
Total Loans $1,591,425 $2,056,238,590
Amount of raised Inactive loans $0 $277,355
Number of raised Inactive loans 0 253
Amount of Paying Back Loans $0 $158,100,775
Number of Paying Back Loans 0 187,973
Amount of Ended Loans $1,591,425 $1,854,343,460
Number of Ended Loans 2,201 2,501,455
Delinquency Rate 0.00% 12.27%
Amount in Arrears $0 $11,965,982
Outstanding Portfolio $0 $97,560,700
Number of Loans Delinquent 0 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 0.28% 0.55%
Amount of Refunded Loans $4,450 $11,261,520
Number of Refunded Loans 5 9,866

Loan Characteristics On Kiva

    This Lending Partner All Kiva Partners
  Loans to Women Borrowers 100.00% 78.49%
Average Loan Size $723 $393
Average Individual Loan Size $724 $585
Average Group Loan Size $550 $1,913
Average number of borrowers per group 2 8.3
Average GDP per capita (PPP) in local country $5,600 $5,592
Average Loan Size / GDP per capita (PPP) 12.91% 7.03%
Average Time to Fund a Loan 2.87 days 9.13 days
Average Dollars Raised Per Day Per Loan $251.92 $43.04
  Average Loan Term 11.65 months 11.5 months

Journaling Performance on Kiva

    This Lending Partner All Kiva Partners
  Total Journals 412 1,224,773
  Journaling Rate 17.99% 41.91%
  Average Number of Comments Per Journal 0.07 0.02
  Average Number of Recommendations Per Journal 14.80 0.55

Borrowing Cost Comparison (based on 2009 data)

    This Lending Partner Median for MFI's in Country All Kiva Partners
  Average Cost to Borrower N/A 22.00% PY 26.61% PY
  Profitability (return on assets) N/A 7.2% -1.37%
  Average Loan Size (% of per capita income) N/A 11.00% 0.00%

Country Fast Facts

Lending Partner Staff