Overview

Zidisha is the first true person-to-person microlending platform, based on direct communication and transactions between lenders worldwide and borrowers in developing countries.

We have openings for highly personable, trustworthy and detail-oriented interns to use their talents and skills to support and develop our community of borrowers. Interns will be directly involved in facilitating life-changing microcredit opportunities for some of the world’s most disadvantaged entrepreneurs.

This is a part-time or full-time “virtual volunteering” position that may be undertaken from any location in the world. Candidates are expected to dedicate a minimum of 10 hours per week to the position, on a flexible schedule which includes consistent availability of at least one hour per day on weekdays to review new loan applications and respond to client emails.

Successful candidates will have a strong previous track record of paid or unpaid work for mission-driven organizations, a passion for advancing opportunities for entrepreneurs in the world’s most marginalized communities, a high degree of responsibility and organization, and ability to independently manage ongoing daily communications responsibilities without an in-person supervisor.

As first line of contact with our clients, Country Liaison Interns, more than anyone else, determine the quality of our clients’ borrowing experience and the resulting quality of their relationship with Zidisha.

Responsibilities

  1. Ensure that Zidisha loan applicants and clients have access to quick, pleasant and useful assistance and support at any time.
  • Work with Virtual Volunteer Team to respond to email and SMS inquiries from your countrie(s) within one business day of receipt.
  • Respond to inquiries from borrowers in the forum.

2. Help new applicants successfully communicate their stories to lenders.

  • Participate in new application review for borrowers in your countrie(s), ensuring that all incoming applications are reviewed within one business day of receipt.
  • Review newly posted loan applications for your countrie(s), and work with applicants to improve them via email.
  1. Ensure that Zidisha website is kept current with accurate loan disbursement and repayment information.
  • Monitor online mobile payment or banking statement for your assigned country, and post all disbursement and repayment transactions to the Zidisha website within one business day of receipt.
  1. Ensure that clients in your country have their funded loans disbursed promptly.
  • Send disbursement forms for authorization and payment within one business day of loan funding.
  • Coordinate with clients regarding next steps for receiving their loan disbursement payments.
  1. Develop familiarity and a friendly, professional rapport with the clients in your assigned country.
  • Follow the news and conduct basic background reading as needed to gain a familiarity with political, economic and cultural conditions in your assigned country.
  • Monitor comments and business updates posted by clients in your countrie(s) and choose the best ones to feature in our website.
  1. Innovate!
  • Propose creative ways to make the experience of Zidisha’s clients even better.
  • As applicable, execute your proposals to leave a lasting impact on our organization.

Qualifications

  • Passion for our mission of advancing economic opportunities for marginalized communities.
  • Highly organized and detail-oriented.
  • A high degree of dependability and strong time management skills.
  • A warm, outgoing and helpful personality.
  • Empathy, discretion and mature judgment.
  • Skill in working with teams and in maintaining good communication at multiple levels.
  • Fluency in French or Bahasa Indonesia is a plus.

About Zidisha

Zidisha is a Y Combinator nonprofit and 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.

Our mostly-volunteer team is distributed worldwide. You’ll work with founder and front-end developer Julia Kurnia, and with our volunteers and interns via Skype, email and our team forum. Opportunities for greater responsibility / leadership will continue to open up as we grow.