Means to communicate on a loan during fund-raising state

[Guest]

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[Krishna]

Sometimes i feel that loan amounts for a given business description is too huge!  I wish there was a way to communicate about such loans, especially during fund-raising state.

This message is not intended to discourage anyone lending, i just want to make sure system works well with good "checks and balances".

This was one of the loans i just happened to feel that way:
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=146976&_tpos=12&_tpg=1

[David2051]

I have seen loans that seem too risky as well.  Usually for me it has more to do with the excessive length of the loan, especially in areas of the world that are politically unsettled.  Various loans have come up for discussion here on Kiva Friends...

[tomviolence]

It is a 4 star partner with a 17 month history. No defaults or delinquincies. A look through most of their loans shows 900 is a pretty popular amount. It is a little longer than their average of 8.19 months, but I see nothing really "red flag" about it.

YMMV

[Krishna]

For the above mentioned loan, i would need more information like:
  - whether business includes building a farm (physical construction)
  - number of chickens in the farm

If someone likes to raise 100 chickens in a village, i would expect cost to be somewhere around $200-300 assuming reasonable cost of living around the region.

[AccountAbility]

The amount may be larger than the cost of chickens because the loan will be used for chickens AND SUPPLIES.  That can include a wide range needing funds.

To answer your basic question, there is no way to get those kind of answers in the timeframe of a loan's fundraising status.  In fact in many/most instances the loan write up is all you will get --until a journal might post with additional information.  I agree that its not a lot of information to go on.  But it certainly is not untypical.

Dan

[Krishna]

Hi Dan,

I understand that the amount requested includes additional cost like "SUPPLIES". In fact, places like the one i am talking about might even have COST delivering the loan. To make some sense of these costs, i expect some basic details which give an idea of how money would be used. For any business, such details are important to lender(s) and/or  investor(s).

People here (on KIVA) are too good in lending and i do not think many lenders give any thoughts on what should be the cost. I do not expect people to know living costs elsewhere unless one is interested. Providing basic details on business will make us learn more and help us make better decisions on lending.  These details can also help to keep lending system healthy with no scope for misuse of funds.

My intention here is to improve the KIVA lending system. I sincerely appreciate your comments and participation in this discussion.

[AccountAbility]

Well, I wish you luck and good fortune in your quest. Based on the things that are on Kiva's plate now, I seriously doubt that loan write-ups will get much more detail.  Don't get me wrong-- I would love to see more detail about these businesses.

But the proposed "templates" give even less detail and the recent experiment in untranslated loan descriptions, among other things, makes me very pessimistic.

Dan

[Krishna]

This is the reply i got from KIVA (contact) on this issue...  [ more update to follow soon ]

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Hello Krishna,

Thanks so much for your email. Right now all of the information on the loan profiles is provided our Field Partners. We encourage them to be as detailed as possible, but they don't always have the resources to commit to as detailed a loan description as we'd like.

Kiva Fellows do help in this regard, and this is feedback we've passed along to them to provide in-turn to the Field Partners.

If I'm missing any part of your question, please let me know!

Best wishes,
Customer Service Manager

[Krishna]

For anyone interested in this message thread... (more updates below):

I have edited my original message to include missing words which are highlighted in red!  This message is intended to improve the system, and is not to discourage anyone.  However, i do not agree with Gerald (see message below) on "incremental gains over time" on this issue.  I can accept such exceptions for some small percent of overall loans on KIVA. I agree that every system requires time to stabilize and mature.

My views presented here will not change my rate of lending based on what i think is reasonable business plan. Hopefully, every lender makes such effort which by itself will set an example for partners to rethink on plans they provide.

Sincerely,
Krishna.

----
Hello Krishna,

Thanks for your reply - it's well received. This is a difficult process, but we hope to make incremental gains over time. If you can be of help. we'll let you know!
 

Best wishes,
Gerard Niemira
Customer Service Manager

Kiva.org
Loans That Change Lives

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Your comment:
Hi Gerald,

I do not believe in such faulty system that is prone to future failure. If a field partner requests anything more than US $250+ as a loan, they better be competitive enough to provide basic details that makes sense. I think, KIVA must insist on a simple template with basic details than to just encourage details as is  in the best interest of lenders as well.

I know, i have an option not participate in loans that do not make sense. However, i feel that many people (especially one who do not have exposure to outside world, but generous in giving with thinking that they are contributing to the good cause) are taken for granted. I could be wrong about an individual loan, but i am very sure that such system is not sustainable.

I would be glad to help KIVA improve system if i can be of any help [ of course as volunteer! ].

Regards, Krishna.

[hejustlaughs]

I wouldn't be surprised if the borrower is parlaying a past loan into the mentioned loan.