Vittana

Vittana was a non-governmental organization that allowed people to lend money via the Internet to students in the developing world.[1] It was a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in Seattle.[2] Vittana focused on student loans because student loans are nearly unavailable in developing countries.[3]

Vittana
Founded2008
FounderKushal Chakrabarti
Brett Witt
Defunct2014
FocusEducation
Location
Area served
Worldwide
MethodMicrocredit
Websitewww.vittana.org (formally, now a personal finance blog)

The loans issued by Vittana ranged from $200 to $1,500 and were funded by individual lenders through Kiva's lending platform and Vittana's funds.[1] Students were given cash advances for educational expenses before money from donors had been collected.[4]

The cash advance provided by a partner organization was covered when Kiva, or Vittana had aggregated sufficient money from donors.[5] A mother or a close relative acted as a co-signer.[3] The recipient of the loan could repay the loan after landing a job.[5] Vittana students had a 98% repayment rate.[1]

Vittana ceased operations in 2014.[6]

References
  1. Rao. L. (2010). Vittana Applies The Kiva Model To Help Finance Education In Developing Countries. Retrieved March 9, 2011, from https://techcrunch.com/2010/03/15/vittana-applies-the-kiva-model-to-help-finance-education-in-developing-countries/
  2. About Vittana. (n.d.). Retrieved March 9, 2011, from http://www.vittana.org/about
  3. A. Villiani, Storytelling: Tall Tales On Online Platforms? Viewed on 11 Mar 2011, http://beyondprofit.com/storytelling-tall-tales-on-online-platforms/
  4. Vittana FAQ from http://www.vittana.org/about/faq
  5. How it works. (n.d.) Retrieved March 9, 2011, from http://www.vittana.org/howitworks
  6. Soper, Taylor (29 August 2014). "Educational microloan non-profit Vittana shutting down". GeekWire. Retrieved 23 February 2016.


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