Help us bring P2P Microfinance to Tanzania

World's first international peer-to-peer microfinance service has an opening for entrepreneurial individuals with close knowledge of one or more developing countries to achieve the following:

• Help us bring our groundbreaking online microlending service to your chosen developing country.
• Open up new opportunities for prosperity in your chosen country by linking small business owners to the opportunity to raise affordable business growth capital limited only by their own performance track records.
• Contribute to the development of the world's first direct person-to-person microlending service - a model that is revolutionizing the traditional microfinance paradigm.

Zidisha Microfinance is the world's first direct peer-to-peer lending service to bridge the international wealth divide, allowing individuals in the US and internationally to lend to and communicate with borrowers in developing countries without local intermediaries. We've been featured in numerous press and media for our groundbreaking work in using internet and mobile phone technologies to connect entrepreneurs in some of the world's most isolated and impoverished places with the international peer-to-peer lending market.

Zidisha currently operates in Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Indonesia, Kenya, Niger and Senegal. Our aim is to make our services available in developing countries worldwide, so that highly motivated individuals regardless of geographic location can access the affordable capital they need to grow their businesses and build better lives. We are currently targeting developing countries with the following characteristics:

• Incomes and business capital needs are low enough that microloans of less than $1000 have a substantial impact on purchasing power and business growth potential
• A lack of affordable local sources of microfinance
• US and host country laws and regulations permit transferring money to and from the country
• One or more banks in the host country allow a US-based nonprofit organization to open a local currency account
• An efficient, low-cost way to transfer payments to and from individuals in that country via electronic payment order - for example, via mobile phone payments or via a bank which accepts emailed payment orders
• Widespread use of a major international language (English, French or Spanish) is a plus

This is an unpaid volunteering opportunity, with a minimum time commitment of ten hours per week for a minimum of three months, on a flexible schedule. The position may be undertaken from any location in the world with an internet connection.

Responsibilities

New Country Expansion Coordinators take on the following responsibilities:

1. Become well versed in how Zidisha works.

• Read through Zidisha's informational literature, processes and procedures
• Interview one or more Zidisha staff to understand how Zidisha's model works in our current countries

2. Help us determine the feasibility of opening a new lending program in your chosen country.

• Advise us regarding the current market for microfinance in your country
• Recommend modifications to our lending model to adapt to local conditions
• Identify one or more banks that allow foreign organizations to open low-cost accounts with online bank statements
• Identify a low-cost way to transfer payments to and from residents of your country, such as mobile phone payments or direct payment orders from a local bank account

3. Help us set up a secure, low-cost money transfer system.

• Liaise with the bank you have identified to facilitate opening of an account in Zidisha's name.
• If mobile phone payments will be used, liaise with the mobile phone payment service to open an account in Zidisha's name.
• Develop productive relationships with the account managers with which Zidisha staff will be working.

4. Work with one or more local community development organizations to launch a pilot lending program.

• Identify one or more reputable local organizations that work with small-scale entrepreneurs who are a good fit for Zidisha's services
• Work with the organization(s) to assist a pilot group of up to ten entrepreneurs to learn about Zidisha and apply for loans
• Communicate with the entrepreneurs as the loans are disbursed and begin to be repaid
• Resolve any confusion or obstacles that come up during the pilot test phase
• Put Zidisha on the path of growth in your country by working with the pilot group of borrowers to spread the word to new applicants

Qualifications

• Extensive experience living and working in the country in which you will be helping us launch a lending program
• Exceptionally entrepreneurial and self-motivated, able to work independently and make things happen on your own initiative
• Creative and resourceful, able to resolve challenges without detailed instructions
• The tenacity to keep things moving despite bureaucratic inertia or other obstacles
• Passion for our mission of advancing economic opportunities for marginalized communities
• High levels of personal integrity, honesty and responsibility

How to apply

Please send a resume and letter describing your chosen country, why that country is a good fit, how you propose to help us launch in that country, and proposed timeframe (dates and hours per week) for your internship, to Julia Kurnia, Zidisha director, at julia@zidisha.org.