WANA Solutions

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 — January 10, 2017

WANA Solutions' final loans with Kiva have ended or defaulted, and Kiva's partnership with this partner is now closed. For the last 24 months, Kiva has been working with WANA to try to recover the remaining outstanding amounts due to Kiva lenders. Kiva and WANA agreed upon a payment plan in April of 2016 but Kiva only received $370 of a total of $27,151 of payment commitments made in this plan. Kiva’s present assessment is that this Lending Partner is unable to make further payments, and thus the remaining amount due to Kiva lenders has now been defaulted. If Kiva is able to recover any additional funds from WANA they will be applied to lenders' accounts on a pro-rata basis.

Status update — April 1, 2015

Kiva has decided to pause WANA'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. Kiva is actively monitoring WANA's evolving financial situation and will continue to follow up with the partner in an effort to recover payments due. We will provide additional relevant information to lenders as it becomes available. 

Partner Description:

Wana Solutions (WANA) is a Ugandan enterprise that distributes Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) to rural, peri urban and urban populations across Uganda, replacing harmful biomass energy with clean alternatives. Committed to increasing access to cleaner, safer and more efficient energy, WANA operates 40 outlets across five districts in Uganda, by providing affordable LPG resources to families, businesses and cooperatives.

Today, over 90% of the Ugandan population uses biomass fuels for cooking. This reliance on solid fuels (e.g. charcoal, and firewood) has contributed significantly to the country’s massive deforestation, while also impacting on the health of communities. WANA attempts to improve the health and socio economic standing of households by improving access to LPG energy.

LPG’s current products target a range of clients, making commercial resources available to urban business customers (e.g. medical staff, teachers, associations, and churches) or delivering gas products to rural clients isolated from sales agents or distribution sites by using local motorbikes cyclists (Locally known as Boda Bodas).

Since commencing operations in 2009, the organization has provided close to 12,000 customers with affordable LPG by distributing and installing affordable equipment and a range of cookstoves to households and small companies. On average, by switching to LPG clients are able to reduce their energy bill by up to 15%.

A unique lending approach:

Since achieving self-sufficiency in 2011,  WANA’s declining dependence on local development banks has impacted its working capital, limiting its expansion. By partnering with Kiva, the organization will now be able to offer customers two new loans: (1) Household and Small Business Loans (2) Savings and Cooperative Loans. Both of these products will allow WANA to reach more families and organizations across Uganda in different ways, by reducing the country’s current reliance on harmful and polluting fuels.

With a low annual interest rate of 10% and 6 to 12 month repayment terms, Kiva lenders’ funds will support the Household and Small Business loan to help families and small organizations to access LPG into their daily lives. The in-kind loan provides borrowers with equipment and refills on lease.

Kiva’s flexible capital will also fund the franchisee loan, a product that aims to empower women entrepreneurs by encouraging them to start their own WANA Solutions redistribution center. These borrowers must be approved by WANA staff before receiving equipment, training and hands-on support to begin and maintain operations. These loans also carry a 10% annual interest rate with repayment terms of 24-48 months.