Entering beta testing: what this means
At long last, we are entering the beta phase of our development. One of our core beliefs is that innovation isn’t hatched overnight, and so we knew that reaching this point would take time. Ultimately, we seek an organization that can stand the test of time and makes a deep impact in the lives of the students it supports.
Four years ago we first discussed the idea of “relationship lending,” and three years ago we provided our first experimental loan. Today, as of this writing, we have now supported 51 students with $154,627. For such a small team, these numbers are significant. But perhaps even more remarkable is that one of our students already graduated from university and fully repaid her loan. Today, she is a lender herself supporting other Zomia students!
Beta: connecting you with our students through fair, affordable finance
This morning, we entered a new phase of our model: Beta testing of the peer-to-peer lending platform. For you, this means you can now support a student and receive repayments from them directly through zomia.org! Although the functionality is at present very basic, we will continue to tweak and add features over time. The end goal is to create an enjoyable lending experience that enables you to change the lives of the students you support through higher education.
To join the Beta community, create a lender account and make a loan to your first student(s).
How you can help beyond lending
Taking these steps will help us refine the platform, share our work, and ultimately reach more students:
- Provide feedback. If you decide to make a loan, we wwant to know what’s working, what could be improved, and what ideas you have for the future of the site. Look out for the red feedback button on your dashboard after creating an account to submit that kind of feedback.
- Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, and invite your family and friends to do the same.
- Share your lending activity with your network. If you make a loan, use the social media buttons on students’ profiles to share their stories with your network.
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