Founded | 2008 |
---|---|
Founder | Kushal Chakrabarti Brett Witt |
Defunct | 2014 |
Focus | Education |
Location |
|
Area served | Worldwide |
Method | Microcredit |
Website | www.vittana.org (formally, now a personal finance blog) |
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]
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]