Wokai

Wokai was a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2007 by Casey Wilson and Courtney McColgan after the two met while studying at Tsinghua University in Beijing. The organization was established to give individuals a direct way to support microfinance in rural China. Rather than lending directly to borrowers, Wokai worked with accredited Chinese microfinance institutions, known as Field Partners, which assessed entrepreneurs, disbursed loans, collected repayments, and managed local operations. Wokai operated from Oakland, California, while maintaining core operations in Beijing. Its model combined online borrower profiles with a lender-directed funding process. Individual contributors could review profiles of qualified entrepreneurs posted by Field Partners and select a borrower or business they wished to support. Wokai aggregated the contributions and transferred the loan capital to the relevant local institution. The Field Partner then disbursed the funds and handled repayment administration. The typical loan was approximately $300 and was intended for modest business investments, such as purchasing additional livestock or expanding the inventory of a dry-goods shop. Wokai reported working with two Field Partners: the Association for Rural Development of Yilong County in Sichuan and the Chifeng Zhaowuda Women's Sustainable Development Association in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia. Borrowers paid interest to the Field Partners, with reported rates ranging from 15% to 20%. Those institutions used the interest income to cover local staffing, transportation, and operating expenses. After a loan was repaid, Wokai notified the lender and allowed the funds to be redistributed for another loan cycle, up to three cycles in total. Contributions were processed through Google Checkout. The organization was supported by individual donors, corporate sponsors, fundraising events, grants, volunteers, and a network of local chapters. Its chapters and volunteer communities extended across North America, Europe, and Asia, including Beijing, Boston, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Nanjing, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Shanghai, Toronto, Washington, D.C., London, Singapore, Bristol, Dallas, and Atlanta. Wokai also operated the Wokai Fellows program, through which selected participants worked directly with Field Partners in rural China. Its blog published field reports, Fellow updates, volunteer profiles, accounts of rural Chinese life, and commentary on microfinance and social entrepreneurship. These activities positioned Wokai as an online-enabled social-finance intermediary rather than a conventional consumer brand or cookware business. Wokai concluded operations in May 2012. The organization cited funding obstacles and the need to identify a new chief executive officer among the reasons for the shutdown. It sent communications to donors and posted an explanation on its website. Because the organization is no longer operating, its former website and program infrastructure should not be treated as evidence of current services.

Wokai emerged in the context of growing interest in online philanthropy, microcredit, and social entrepreneurship in the late 2000s. Casey Wilson and Courtney McColgan founded the organization in March 2007 after meeting while studying at Tsinghua University in Beijing. Their concept was to make rural Chinese microfinance more accessible to individual supporters outside China by combining an online presentation layer with established local lending institutions. The organization was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the United States and based in Oakland, California. Its core operating work was conducted from Beijing, placing the organization close to the Chinese microfinance institutions and rural communities it served. Wokai did not itself function as a conventional bank. Instead, it approved or worked with accredited Field Partners, who identified eligible entrepreneurs, posted borrower information through Wokai's platform, disbursed loans, and managed collections. Two Field Partners were identified in the organization's operating model. The Association for Rural Development of Yilong County served communities in Sichuan, while the Chifeng Zhaowuda Women's Sustainable Development Association operated in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia. Through these partners, Wokai presented individual entrepreneurs seeking relatively small amounts of capital. The average loan was described as being around $300, with uses including purchasing livestock or expanding the inventory of small rural stores. The lending process was designed to let contributors choose the entrepreneur they wanted to support. Wokai aggregated contributions and sent the capital to the relevant Field Partner. Borrowers repaid through the local institution, and the Field Partner remitted repayment information and funds through the Wokai system. Once a loan was repaid, the original lender could redirect the capital to another borrower, subject to a maximum of three loan cycles. The model therefore emphasized recycling loan capital rather than treating each contribution as a one-time grant. Field Partners charged borrowers interest rates reported at between 15% and 20%. That interest was used to fund local operational requirements, including personnel, transportation, and related costs. Donor payments were processed using Google Checkout. Wokai's financial and organizational support came from individual donors, corporate sponsors, grants, fundraising events, volunteers, and chapters in numerous cities across Asia, Europe, and North America. Beyond loan intermediation, Wokai developed a community and communications structure. Its chapters supported volunteers and fundraising, while the Wokai Fellows program placed selected individuals with Field Partners in rural China. The organization's blog provided field updates and Fellow reports, introduced volunteers, described rural Chinese life, and discussed developments in microfinance and social entrepreneurship. This combination of lending access, field reporting, and volunteer participation gave Wokai a public-facing identity distinct from that of a traditional financial institution. By 2012, however, Wokai faced organizational and financial constraints. In May of that year it announced that it was concluding operations. The stated reasons included funding roadblocks and the need for a new chief executive officer. Wokai communicated the closure to donors and published an explanation on its website. It is consequently best documented as a defunct nonprofit microfinance platform, not as an active cookware or consumer-products brand.

1. 2012Operations conclude

   Wokai announces that it is no longer operating, citing funding barriers and the need for a new CEO.

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2. 2007Wokai is founded

   Casey Wilson and Courtney McColgan establish Wokai after meeting while studying at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

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3. 2007Online microfinance model developed

   Wokai begins connecting individual contributors with accredited Chinese microfinance institutions serving rural entrepreneurs.

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4. Wokai Fellows program operates

   The organization creates a fellowship program placing selected participants with Field Partners in rural China.

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A nonprofit social-finance intermediary connecting individual international contributors with accredited Chinese microfinance institutions serving low-income rural entrepreneurs.

• Wokai microfinance platformMicrofinance intermediation2007

  Wokai's principal service allowed individual contributors to browse profiles of rural Chinese entrepreneurs supplied by Field Partners and direct loan capital toward a selected borrower. Wokai aggregated the funds and transferred them to the relevant accredited microfinance institution, which handled assessment, disbursement, collection, and local reporting. Repayments could be redirected to additional borrowers for up to three loan cycles.

• Wokai FellowsFellowship program

  Wokai Fellows was a field-oriented program that enabled selected individuals to work directly with one of Wokai's rural Chinese Field Partners. The program supported on-the-ground engagement and generated reporting about partner activities, borrowers, and rural communities for Wokai's broader donor and volunteer audience.

• 2012Decision to conclude operationsStrategy

  Wokai faced funding roadblocks and an organizational requirement for a new chief executive officer.

  What changed. The organization announced that it would cease operations, informed donors, and posted a public explanation.

  Aftermath. Wokai became defunct in May 2012 and no longer provided its microfinance platform or fellowship program.

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• 2012Wokai concludes operations

  Wokai announced that it was ending its operations after encountering funding obstacles and an unmet need for a new chief executive officer. Donors were notified and an explanation was posted on the organization's website.

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1. Wokai