WHAT IS WOKAI
Wokai (我开 - or “I start” in Mandarin) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose aim is to help entrepreneurial-minded individuals in rural China lift themselves out of poverty. We've built an online platform that allows anybody with a credit card to contribute loan capital directly to an entrepreneur of their choice in China. Each contribution will be distributed in the form of micro-loans and can be in increments of as little as $10.
Through our field partners working out of rural China, Wokai is able to pool the donations from generous contributors worldwide and after a careful screening process, extend loans out to individuals to fund their prospective projects. These projects can range from obtaining feed for livestock to helping to jumpstart a new business venture. Extensive due diligence is conducted on each recipient and our historical repayment rate has exceeded 98%
We are based in Oakland, California, with core operations in Beijing. We also have active Chapters in San Francisco, Seattle and New York, with more than 80 active representatives.
HOW WOKAI WORKS
On www.wokai.org, contributors
choose recipients to support, watch repayments and progress over time,
and, once the borrower has fully repaid her loan, pick who to fund next.
Wokai makes these connections by working with local non-profit Field
Partners who choose recipients, distribute contributions, and monitor
progress. Maintaining transparency and oversight is crucial in any developing
country. Wokai therefore works hands-on with Field Partners to ensure
that each dollar gets to the end recipient and back.
WHY WOKAI EXISTS
China poverty & inequality:
Over the past 25 years, China’s economic boom has brought wealth to
many, but 200 million people still live on less than $1.25 a day. Inequalities
have developed, dividing urban and rural areas and limiting access to
financial services, healthcare, educational opportunity, and environmental
protection.
Microfinance as a solution: Microfinance
offers one of the best solutions to alleviating poverty, decreasing
inequality, and addressing these social problems. Microfinance differs
from poverty alleviation methods of the past in that it empowers beneficiaries
to help themselves. Loans enable people to start small businesses, increase
their incomes, pay for important needs such as their children’s education
and healthcare, grow their businesses, and, eventually, lift their entire
family out of poverty. This creates a positive cycle of change as loans
are recycled year after year to support new recipients.
HOW WOKAI IMPACTS
Raising capital
for those who need it: Wokai
raises capital for recipients in China, empowering them to fulfill their possibility and lift themselves from poverty.
Building a community
of changemakers: Wokai builds
a global community of individuals and institutions taking action to
build a better China.
Promoting transparency: Wokai creates an informational resource
on the non-profit sector in China and every institution with whom it
works. By auditing institutions and tracking every dollar contributed
to an institution, Wokai is developing the transparency crucial for
inspiring institutional efficiency and regulatory change.
