Intro
Despite China’s economic boom over the past decades, over 200 million rural Chinese still live on less than $1.25 USD a day. Inequalities have developed and are growing larger by the day, and the "have-nots" in rural areas continue to have limited access to basic financial services, healthcare, education, and environmental protection. Casey, a Paragon fellow 2009, believes that microcredit, the extension of very small loans to those in poverty, is the best solution to correct these inequalities in a lasting way.

i-genius: Could you tell us a bit more about yourself, who is Casey Wilson?
Casey: I am a 26 year old young woman originally from Oakland, California, USA. I attended college in Connecticut at Wesleyan University where I studied and became passionate about economic development and China. Four years ago now, after graduating from college, I came to China to pursue a career in development. I felt like by living and working in development in China, I could see a significant amount of change in a very short period of time. That was the impetus for moving to China three years ago.

i-genius: You founded the Wokai in 2007 while studying Mandarin in Beijing. Tell us how everything started back then.
Casey: How I got specifically involved in microfinance was twofold. One part was meeting my partner, Courtney [McColgan]. She was on a Fulbright at the time studying loan sharks in the informal lending sector in Zhejiang Province and had been involved in microfinance in China for about 3 years. Courtney and I became roommates after we were classmates; it was then that we decided to combine our skills and interests to launch Wokai.

i-genius: You are working on peer-to-peer microfinance in China. Tell us a bit more about peer-to-peer microfinance and the situation of microfinance in China.
Casey: Person-to-person microfinance was started around five years ago by Kiva, who leverages the internet and social networking technology to connect lenders around the world directly with borrowers in the developing world. The model has proved to be a phenomenal success.

While microfinance has the potential to significantly reduce poverty and the growing rural-urban divide, China’s microfinance sector lags far behind other developing countries around the world. It has been estimated that 75% of rural citizens lack access to financial services. MFIs do exist and have proven successful, but they are usually small in size and outreach (having on average between 100 and 3,000 borrowers), lack the funding necessary to expand because they are prohibited from accessing commercial debt or equity investments, leaving them reliant on donor funding. As such, while China has the second largest potential microcredit demand in the world, next to India, the total loan portfolio of China’s non-government microfinance sector is only $200 million, compared to India, whose microfinance sector is projected to reach $3 billion 2010.

i-genius: What is your business model?
Casey: We rely on the support from donors like you as well as fundraising events, grants, corporate sponsorships and individual donors for funding, to cover our costs associated with Field Partner evaluation, monitoring and training, website development, and public outreach. Over the next four years we aim to reach self-sufficiency through an optional 10% donation that donors can add when funding an entrepreneur’s loan through our site.

i-genius: You are spreading the word about Wokai and fundraise through “Drinks for a better World” in China, Hong Kong and the US. What is your experience with this event marketing strategies?
Casey: We have a great network of over 250 "Chapter Representative" volunteers in 9 Chapters in Hong Kong, the US, Canada, and China. They’ve provided a great base for Wokai to spread our presence and brand in our key market locations and communities.

i-genius: Where do you want to take Wokai?
Casey: Over the next three years, we’d like to take Wokai to complete financial sustainability and reach over $10 million in total loan capital. Over the long term, we’d like to make a significant contribution to developing China’s microfinance sector as a whole.

i-genius: What keeps you motivated? What would you advise other young social entrepreneurs who want to start their ventures?
Casey: Nothing is more fulfilling than feeling that what you do on a day-to-day basis is changing the world for the better. In starting Wokai, I was inspired by the realization that I came from a world where I had amazing opportunities: I grew up in a good family, graduated from a good college, so I could pursue anything I wanted—from an executive position in a Fortune 500 company or traveling around the world. But the majority of people worldwide do not have this same freedom. Personally, I have felt that I would be wasting my opportunities if I didn’t try to share some of them with others. That’s why I started Wokai — to allow other people the chance to take hold of their own lives, lift themselves from poverty, and feel that sense of freedom.

In starting a new organization, there are always challenges. But as a social entrepreneur, you find new solutions and learn every single day. I have found that being passionate about Wokai’s mission, not taking ‘no’ for an answer, and working ceaselessly until things come together has been the most effective ethos. There is a solution to every problem, if you keep looking. Having this confidence is really important and it will come if you pick a cause that you truly believe in.

i-genius: What is the question noone ever ask you but you wish they would have?
Casey: This question. I’m stumped ;-).