Zidisha is the first direct person-to-person lending service for entrepreneurs in developing countries. We've gotten the administrative cost of loans down to just 5% by using a decentralized marketplace instead of loan officers to manage credit risk.

We've recently converted from a nonprofit to a for-profit in order to access the institutional capital needed to fulfill the immense demand for small / medium business loans in emerging markets. We're in a unique position to capitalize on this opportunity because we have spent the past ten years developing a high-engagement community where borrowers and lenders build long-term relationships.

We've originated over 250K loans since 2009, and have rich and varied data from our members' community interactions in addition to the smartphone data used by other lending apps. The more extensive data and community relationships allow us to specialize in the more challenging larger loans to medium-sized businesses, which are underserved by other lenders and have the most potential to create wealth and jobs in low-income communities.