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Press

2013

Microfinance From Vittana Helps Students in Paraguay

Open Equal Free

February 4th, 2013

"This gap between the need for educational loans and students’ dreams is being addressed by the micro-financing program offered by Vittana, a Seattle-based Non-Profit organization, which provides educational loans to bright and motivated students like Ben

YU social entrepreneur students help with Vittana, nonprofit micro-loaning

Deseret News

January 10th, 2013

"BYU students are helping an innovative micro-loan company make college affordable for impoverished students around the world."

Loans for students in developing nations help fight against poverty

Deseret News

January 7th, 2013

"the average loan recipient triples their income. “For many that means going from two to three dollars a day to ten,”

2012

8 Companies that Make the Holiday Season Merrier

Forbes

December 12th, 2012

"GeekWire raised more than $32,000 for Vittana’s education-oriented student loan program, with various companies in town pooling their funds in a bit of friendly philanthropic competition."

Vinod Khosla, Rich Barton lead Vittana’s new ‘League of Extraordinary Tech Superheroes’

GeekWire

December 6th, 2012

"Venture capital Vinod Khosla and Zillow co-founder Rich Barton have joined forces to bankroll Vittana, the Seattle non-profit that’s attempting to wipe out youth poverty through education-oriented microloans."

Why I walked away from $1 million (and why you should help us combat youth poverty)

GeekWire

November 22nd, 2012

Interview with Kushal Chakrabarti

New Internationalist

September 1st, 2012

"5 young people around the globe cannot afford to pay to completepost-secondary education or training, leaving the productive capacity of the next generation hugely underdeveloped.

Another Unusual $100,000 Birthday Present (Plus: Free Round-Trip Anywhere in the World)

Tim Ferriss Blog

July 19th, 2012

In lieu of gifts this year, my birthday wish is to help poor youth in developing nations finish school. This breaks the cycle of poverty and creates problem solvers in places with problems that affect communities, entire countries, and the world at large.

Brooke Burke's Girls Night Out Giveaway

Modern Mom

May 17th, 2012

"Good Carma Studio and Crunchies helped throw a very special Ladies Night at Brooke Burke's home to benefit the non-profit Vittana, an organization that helps young people around the world to get loans to finish their education."

Guest column: Let’s celebrate the geeks who ‘GiveBig’

GeekWire

May 2nd, 2012

"On the eve of the GeekWire’s big Seattle 2.0 Awards bash, I’m excited to see Seattle become a hub for our very own hard-headed idealists: techies and startup geeks borrowing the best of business and philanthropy to change the world — scalably, sustainabl

Vittana Funds Education Through Microloans

Wall Street Journal Blog

April 27th, 2012

"Vittana, a digital “microloan” nonprofit, aims to helps young students around the world get out of poverty. For as little as $25, people can make a loan to a student in developing countries to help them get to college."

On International Women's Day, give the gift of education

Cool Mom Picks

March 8th, 2012

"In honor of International Womens Day, Vittana has set a very lofty goal of funding tuition loans for 100 impoverished female students"

Social Entrepreneur Says 'We Don't Need Facebook for Dogs'

Forbes

January 24th, 2012

"Nothing summarized the Intersection Event better than Kushal Chakrabarti’s comment halfway through the day. Lobbying for the audience award of $5,000 for his social enterprise Vittana, he said, “We don’t need Facebook for dogs. Do something that matters.

2011

Google Joins with Seattle Angels

GeekWire

December 14th, 2011

Vittana, the Seattle non-profit facilitating micro-loans to students in developing countries, has received a $250,000 grant from Google.

Social or Cultural Entrepreneurship: An Argument for a New Distinction

Stanford Social Innovation Review

December 8th, 2011

[Vittana] is proving that there is a market for other lenders, and is increasing hope and supercharging educational expectations among these communities. The former is more of a market innovation; the latter is an affirmation of potential.

The Loan of a Lifetime

The Global Journal

December 1st, 2011

The brilliance of Vittana is that everyone whether in the developed or the developing world has some connection to education. That is the first step. If a lender can find common ground with those in need, they are more likely to lend--and lend, and lend.

Nick Cain: Vittana's First 1500 Students

Microcredit Summit 2011

November 13th, 2011

Read the paper Nick Cain presented in association with Vittana's presentation on the panel "Empowering the Children of Microentrepreneurs with Primary and Secondary Education, College Scholarships and Loans, and Financial Services for Their Businesses"

Vittana Means Opportunity for Students

Pop!Tech

August 11th, 2011

In 2008, PopTech Social Innovation Fellow Kushal Chakrabarti presented his project, Vittana, on stage at PopTech. Three years later, the non-profit has announced their 1,000th student loan since launch.

Investing in Students and in Education Globally

NPR: KQED

August 8th, 2011

With all the discussion about how we need to rethink elements of the education system — in the U.S. and elsewhere — it’s important to remember that for most people around the world, education is not just a privilege, it’s a necessity.

Student Loans via Microfinance

Rainmakers.TV

July 31st, 2011

If you give young people earning $3-4/day a chance, they're not going to give it up. And over 99% of students repay.

Greatest Person Of The Day: Kushal Chakrabarti And Vittana Revolutionize Student Loans

The Huffington Post

June 13th, 2011

"Since 2008, Kushal and Vittana have helped a 1,000 students in 11 countries finish school. Incredibly, 99 percent of Vittana's partnering students repay their loans in full, and many of them start saving up while they're still in school."

Vittana Named "Best Non-Profit Startup" At Seattle 2.0 Awards

Seattle 2.0

May 6th, 2011

"We are reaching 1,000 students. But there is so much more to be done. When you think about the need in this world for education, it is not 1,000, it is 100,000, it is a million. That's what we're out to achieve."

2010

Rwandan Education Ministry Could Cut All Scholarships For University Students

Christian Science Monitor

October 6th, 2010

"During the nerd rockfest that was the Clinton Global Initiative, Vittana announced that it would give 10,000 loans of $1,000 each to students in Africa. In a few months, Rwandan students may be asking, "Can you add us to the list?"

Vittana CEO Named Keynote Speaker At SOCAP 2010

Social Capital Markets 2010

October 4th, 2010

"Kushal Chakrabarti, co-founder and CEO of Vittana, is a keynote speaker with Matt Flannery, co-founder and CEO of Kiva, and Jacqueline Novogratz, founder and CEO of Acumen Fund."

Vittana/Africa: Bringing Student Loans to Africa

Clinton Global Initiative

September 22nd, 2010

"[Vittana] will help 10,000 students complete the "last mile" of their education. With about $1,000, these students can gain real, employable skills in fields such as nursing, law enforcement, and IT, changing the entire trajectory of their lives."

Microfinance For Students: Making The Grade

The Economist

September 9th, 2010

"Finding new ways to fund poor students in emerging markets has become a hotbed of innovation. Vittana, founded three years ago by Kushal Chakrabarti, is raising loans for students in five countries, with more soon to follow."

Vittana CEO Named One Of Seattle's Top 40 Under 40

Puget Sound Business Journal

August 10th, 2010

"What motivates me is do something that is useful," Chakrabarti says. "We need to be kind and genuine in all that we do. But, at the same time, this isn't a big 'Kumbaya' fuzz-fest. We need to make real things happen."

Haward: Before, After and Paying It Forward

The Huffington Post Jun 2010

June 30th, 2010

Vittana Connects Students In Developing Nations With Tiny Lenders Worldwide

Los Angeles Times

June 12th, 2010

"As she stood onstage at her graduation ceremony in Managua, Nicaragua, Luceymi Maria Lopez Lopez described how the diploma felt in her hand. "Grandioso," she said. "Superbien." "I never thought I would be able to finish," Lopez said."

Crowd-Funded Student Loans: Vittana Brings Microfinance To Campuses Worldwide

Politics Daily

April 28th, 2010

"This reality is familiar to Nardith Torres Marcelo, a 23-year-old mother in Peru who dreamed of becoming a nurse. After graduating high school, Marcelo enrolled in technical school but had to drop out to work full-time and care for her son."

9 Ways To Do Good With 5 Minutes Or $25

Mashable

April 17th, 2010

"If you care about higher education, this microlending site might be right up your alley."

5 Social Capitalists Who'll Change The World

Fast Company

February 1st, 2010

"We're jump-starting a global system of access to higher education, says Chakrabarti, 28-year-old founder of Vittana. It has made some of the first-ever student loans in Vietnam, Peru, Paraguay, Nicaragua, and soon Cambodia."

10 Most Innovative Finance Companies

Fast Company

January 1st, 2010

"The pioneering education microfinance outfit has made the first-ever student loans in Peru, Paraguay, Nicaragua, Mongolia, and Vietnam. Although it's less than a year old and still small -- a few hundred students -- the startup has drawn accolades."

2009

Developing Peer-To-Peer Lending For College

Fox Business Network

December 20th, 2009

College Loans As Development Aid

The New York Times

December 6th, 2009

"If you're trying to raise standards of living," Mr. Ogden said, "making an education loan is probably a better way of doing that than lending another $100 to an illiterate and unskilled woman to open another roadside stand."

Vittana: Student Loans And A New Generation Of Microfinance

Next Billion

November 20th, 2009

"With such a sharp and well-defined business model and powerful supporters, this organization may be well on its way to making a significant impact in the world of microfinance. It may also represent a way forward for the next generation in microfinance."

#1 Game-Changer in Philanthropy

The Huffington Post

November 19th, 2009

"Realizing that education is the quickest route out of poverty, Vittana aims to make it easier for poor families to send their children to school."

"Service Can Start Small, Global Social Entrepreneurs Say"

Mormon Times

November 8th, 2009

"Although only 1 1/2 years old, the program is already flourishing in Nicaragua, Peru, Bolivia and Mongolia, Chakrabarti said. "The power of what we as individuals, we as a community can do is really amazing."

Vittana Partners With Facebook's fbFund REV

fbFund

September 1st, 2009

Amazon.com Veterans Back Vittana Educational Loans

The Seattle Times

July 28th, 2009

"While microcredit has made great strides, says Vittana CEO Kushal Chakrabarti, it hasn't lifted poor entrepreneurs into the middle class. That's usually left to the next generation, so the first chance borrowers get, they send their kids to school."

Pay $5, Fund A New Startup

TechFlash

February 26th, 2009

People who visit the site can choose to make small loans to these students to help them complete their educations.

2008

Vittana CEO Named 2008 PopTech Social Innovation Fellow

Pop!Tech

October 27th, 2008