Zidisha Microfinance is looking for additional Impact Assessors to be part of the first impact evaluation on the first Peer to Peer Microcredit organization. This evaluation will contribute toward knowledge on the ways in which our organization is improving the lives of its borrowers and possibly lead toward expressing the validity of peer to peer microcredit as a finance method.
This is a unique opportunity that will expose volunteers to in-country development work and provide them with concrete field work experience that is necessary for anyone with a desire to work in the field of international development.
About Zidisha:
Zidisha Microfinance is an innovative nonprofit that lets ordinary web users make microloans to economically marginalized entrepreneurs around the world. The loans allow the individuals to start small businesses to provide higher income for their families, and once repaid the loan funds are returned to lenders who may in turn fund new individuals of their choice. What makes Zidisha unique is that there are no intermediaries. The borrowers themselves post their loan applications and communicate directly with lenders as their business investments grow. Linking entrepreneurs directly with the international peer-to-peer lending market gives them the chance to source business growth capital far more easily and affordably than was previously possible in many developing countries.
The Position:
Impact Assessors will conduct a household survey of a pool of both borrowers and non-borrowers which will be used to determine the impact of Zidisha borrowing using propensity score matching. Assessors will travel to neighborhoods that have been randomly predetermined to interview. Data will be collected through a tablet program and thus no external data entry will be necessary.
Position Requirements:
- BA/BSc. (completed or in progress) in economics, international development, statistics, or related field
- Ability to work independently
- Knowledge of household survey methodology
- Developing country experience (desirable), comfortable traveling in the greater Nairobi and Nakuru regions
- Swahili language skills (desirable but not necessary)
- Ability to self-finance internship experience
Desired Commitment:
Start date sometime between before the end of August with preference given to those that can start in early to mid-July. This is an unpaid research internship.
