We are proud to announce that Zafèn has become a field partner with Kiva, a crowdfunding platform supporting a worldwide network of microfinance institutions alleviating poverty through business loans. This collaboration introduces Kiva’s 1 million users to Haitian entrepreneurs, creating an even wider audience of potential funders who can make loans of $25 and up!
Our affiliation with Kiva reduces Zafèn’s operating costs and enables us to devote more resources to presenting you with the best quality and variety of loans. In time, we hope it will allow us to offer larger loans to Haitian businesses.
Because Kiva processes all loans for its field partners, we are asking you to make a few changes to your Zafèn account and some decisions about your current balances. Beginning June 19, 2014, when you visit zafen.org and click to make a loan, you will be directed to Kiva’s website. When you check out, you will need to create an account on Kiva.
Unfortunately, we cannot transfer your existing Zafèn balance directly to Kiva. However, you can choose to do one of the following:
Send an email to contact@zafen.org and request that your Zafèn balance be transferred to your PayPal account. When you check out at Kiva, tap your PayPal account to fund the loan.
Send an email to contact@zafen.org and request a refund of your existing Zafèn balance in the form of a check that will be mailed to you from Fonkoze USA, our fiscal sponsor.
If you have active loans still in repayment mode on Zafèn, you can request a transfer to PayPal or a refund check on a regular basis—for example, every three months—until your repayments are complete.
Chose to donate your balance to Zafèn by making a donation of the full amount to this project that underwrites Zafèn’s administrative costs.
Send an email to contact@zafen.org and donate your balance to a rotating reinvestment loan fund we will use to top off loans that are close to being fully funded but still need a small amount to complete the loan.
There is no change in the process to contribute to a donation project. You can continue to use your My Zafèn account and balance to fund donation projects that are on the site now and new projects that will be posted in the future.
Please take one of these actions by the end of July to help make this transition a great success. Zafèn users who open Kiva accounts by July 31 are eligible to win one of 10 $25 gift cards that can be used to make a loan through Kiva! Winners will be contacted in August.
Meanwhile, you can take great pride in the powerful accomplishments you made possible for business and social projects across Haiti in the four years since Zafèn launched. Pat yourselves on the back because:
- Zafèn users pumped nearly $2 million into the Haitian economy through nearly 500 business loans and donations to worthy social, educational, environmental and entrepreneurial projects,
- Zafen-supported businesses created more than 800 new jobs, and
- Zafen trained hundreds of Small Growing Businesses (SGBs) in financial best practices.
Now powered by Kiva, Zafèn will continue its ground-breaking role as a crowd-funding pathway for Haitian economic development. You can count on us to deliver low-interest loans to women and men who are growing businesses in Haiti and to offer donation opportunities to fund valuable social and community initiatives. Unleash Haiti’s prosperity at zafen,org or kiva.org today and continue supporting Haiti’s SGB sector!
Sincerely,
The Zafèn Team
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