Kiva is a great organization I have mentioned before (e.g. microfinancing for entrepreneurs). They let people to loan money directly to entrepreneurs around the world through their web site. Loan can be as small as $25. As the business produces income from the capital loaned the loan is paid back. Kiva is setup as a charity, so those making the loans do not make a profit. In actuality the capital is provided through a Kiva partner (intermediary) that often does change interest to the entrepreneur (many are non-profits themselves that use the interest to fund operating expenses - and I think some are for profit, though I may be wrong on that).
I loaned an additional $300 to 6 entrepreneurs today and donated $50 to Kiva. The entrepreneurs I helped fund are located in: Togo, Dominican Republic, Senegal, Nicaragua, Bolivia and Uganda. One of the things Kiva does very well is take advantage of the internet to connect to these people. You can see short profiles and photos of them on my Kiva profile.
I hope some of you readers will join and provide loans. If so I would love to add a link to your profile from the Curious Cat Kiva supporters page.
Related: Using Capitalism to Make the World Better - Kiva: Internet based Microfinancing - Make the World Better
Comments
8 Comments so far
When you really have to struggle to put food on your plate or get clean water economic concerns are critically important. Economic progress may well decide whether your children live or not.
“The decision was swift as it was simple: move to Cambodia to provide jobs for poor women. I first
visited Phnom Penh in April 2006 and was back the next month to look for a house…”
John: I made a small ($50) trial contribution to Kiva in January. Only problem is I don’t see any reports on the success of my receipient’s business. He’s paying back OK but I’d like to know if the loan is working for him - does he need more? I asked Kiva but not much response.
Also, are any microloan ops offering a (low - say 5%) return to the donator? I don’t need the money but it would be a great way to build funds over time for further loans. Either way I plan on putting in more - it’s a great project.
Mike J
[...] story, and exactly my home for using capitalism to improve the standard of living for people around the globe. I notice today, for the first time, some of those seeking loans are about to have their listings [...]
[...] Great story, and exactly my hope for using capitalism to improve the standard of living for people around the globe. [...]
Guys , thanks for all the info here.
I think Microfinance is a great method of uplifting the society , specially when it creates a sustainable value chain at the bottom, against capitalism which only creates financial absorption.
However check this link from the world bank : http://psdblog.worldbank.org/psdblog/2006/07/are_mfi_interes.html
Traditionally Microfinance in Asia pac is not termed as a loan with Interest. It is very skillfully designed as an amount of loan which asks for daily repayment of say 1 dollar or 2 dollars.And guess what , until the time the loan is paid - the interest comes to 70%. Isnt this STRANGE.
Regarding kiva - folks like us can only watch how our money is coming back to us. We have no idea whats happening at the backend. Kiva doesnt reply much to our emails - even if they do it , its pretty laconic.
Its very strange that the donations at kiva dont cover India /China /bangladesh - which have one of the highest levels of poverty.
Nevertheless , if the money that goes to Kiva everyday does touch peoples lives in the positive manner - Kudos to Kiva.
However , if they dont - I would say its a brilliant method of earning money without even spending a dime. Think about a 30% interest on a $1 Billion in a years time by the only method of getting rich. Its called Other peoples Money! It can be brilliantly done.
[...] Great story, and exactly my hope for using capitalism to improve the standard of living for people around the globe. [...]
Photo of Cesar Augusto Santamaría Escoto in in his welding workshop, Chinandega, Nicaragua.