Zidisha, a US-based nonprofit microlending service, reached the milestone of USD $300,000 raised for 500 different businesses.

Here is the press release:

(MicroCapital) July 31, 2012 — Zidisha, a US-based nonprofit microlending service, reached the milestone of USD 300,000 raised for 500 different businesses on July 18, 2012. Each day, Zidisha facilitates the lending of approximately USD 1,000 for businesses in Burkina Faso, Indonesia, Kenya and Senegal. As of July 28, 2012, the businesses lending through Zidisha had a reported repayment rate of 98.17 percent at an average annualized interest rate of 3.12 percent. Zidisha allows individual lenders to provide loans as low as USD 1 to businesses that have been verified by Zidisha to have successfully repaid loans to other lenders.

Potential borrowers use Zidisha to propose an interest rate that serves as a ceiling. Lenders may offer to fund all or part of the loan at an interest rate equal to or less then the proposed rate. If a loan is over-subscribed, the lowest offered rates prevail. As the business makes use of the loan, the entrepreneur is able to post updates through Zidisha for the lenders to view. As borrowers make monthly repayments, the principal and interest can be reinvested immediately into other businesses or can be withdrawn.

About Zidisha:

Zidisha is a nonprofit organization that was launched in 2009 in the US by Julia Kurney, who is also a founding partner of Senegal Ecovillage Microfinance (SEM). Zidisha intermediates loans from individuals to entrepreneurs with credit histories in Senegal, Kenya, Burkina Faso, and Indonesia. Lenders are able to browse listings written by the entrepreneurs themselves and then bid on interest rates with the entrepreneur able to select the lowest offered rate. As of July 2012, Zidisha has facilitated approximately USD 300,000 in loans from 1,246 lenders to 512 low-income entrepreneurs in Senegal, Kenya, Burkina Faso, and Indonesia. As of July 2012, Zidisha reports a 98.2 percent repayment rate.