MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microlending Platform Kubaru Partners with Action Grace Divine to Support Entrepreneurs in Burkina Faso

Kubaru, a UK-based nonprofit microfinance lending platform, recently partnered with Action Grace Divine (AGD), a microfinance institution in Burkina Faso, to provide funding for microentrepreneurs in Burkina Faso. Kubaru’s website enables individuals in any country to loan GBP 10 (USD 15.6) and GBP 100 (USD 156) to entrepreneurs in Burkina Faso and the Philippines. Entrepreneurs in these countries reportedly use microloans to create and develop small businesses in the agriculture, transportation and retail sectors.

Kubaru’s two local field partners, AGD and the Gata Daku Multi-Purpose Cooperative (GDMPC), a microfinance institution in the Philippines, upload prospective borrower profiles onto Kubaru’s website. Once the borrower’s loan request is fulfilled, Kubaru transfers the funds to local field partners, who use the money to backfill loans that previously have been disbursed to borrowers. The borrower repays the loan to the field partner, who sends the repayments to Kubaru. Once the loans have been repaid, lenders can choose to reinvest their money, donate it to Kubaru or withdraw it to a bank account.

Kubaru reports that its field partners charge an average of 15 to 30 percent interest.

Financial information for Kubaru is unavailable.

By Adrija Vaiciulionis, Research Associate

About Kubaru:
Kubaru is a microfinance peer-to-peer lending platform that is based in London, England and was created in 2011 by Ben Warren and Stephen Hall. Kubaru aims to support entrepreneurship in areas of the developing world that are prone to natural disasters such as typhoons, floods and food crises. Kubaru raises funds for its two local field partners in Burkina Faso and the Philippines, who in turn disburse microcredit to entrepreneurs to be used to start or expand business in agriculture, transportation and retail.

About Action Grace Divine (AGD):
Action Grace Divine (AGD) is a microfinance institution that was founded in 2009 in the Burkina Faso city of Ouagadougou. AGD offers microloans ranging from GBP 200-2000 (USD 311-3,110) to entrepreneurs and as of 2013 has served approximately 3800 customers since its inception. Financial information for AGD is unavailable.

Sources and Additional Resources:

“Pioneering New Post-Disaster Microfinance Charity Launches Peer-to-Peer Microloans in Burkina Faso,” www.pressat.co.ukhttp://www.pressat.co.uk/releases/pioneering-new-post-disaster-microfinance-charity-launches-peer-to-peer-microloans-in-burkina-faso-4fa227dc3d72979a5e2e64a01aaf4228/

“Kubaru Starts New Microfinance Partnership with Action Grace Divine,” Microfinance Focus Europe, http://europe.microfinancefocus.com/kubaru-starts-new-microfinance-partnership-with-action-grace-divine/

MicroCapital article, May 23, 2013, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF) Disburses Tranches of $1.8m in Loans to African Microfinance Institutions GRAINE of Burkina Faso, CAURIE of Senegal,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-grameen-credit-agricole-microfinance-foundation-gcamf-disburses-tranches-of-1-8m-in-loans-to-african-microfinance-institutions-graine-of-burkina-faso-caurie-of-senegal/

MicroCapital article, September 2, 2010, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Freedom from Hunger Publishes Results of Four-year, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-funded Grant Program to Bring Combination of Microfinance and Healthcare Options to Rural Poor in Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, India and the Philippines,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-freedom-from-hunger-publishes-results-of-four-year-bill-melinda-gates-foundation-funded-grant-program-to-bring-combination-of-microfinance-and-healthcare-options-to-rural-po/

MicroCapital article, January 26, 2012, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kiva Piloting Peer to Peer Microfinance Lending Platform Kiva Zip in Keyna, San Francisco,”
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-kiva-piloting-peer-to-peer-microfinance-lending-platform-kiva-zip-in-kenya-san-francisco/

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