I made my first Kiva loan today! I loaned $50 to Edina in Tanzania for her fabric and sarong business. Edina is 29 years old, and is married with 2 young sons. Her business currently makes a profit of $45 per month, and she requested the loan so she can open a shop for her business.
It seems to me that Kiva is an innovative, practical way to do micro-lending that is only possible with the technology we have today. It directly connects people with a few extra dollars (from all over the world) to people in developing countries who can really use that money. And it's not a gift -- the recipients are expected to pay the loan back, and default rate is very, very low. And the best part -- when Edina pays back her loan, I can loan my original $50 to another entrepreneur of my choice. I can keep recirculating my original capital over and over again, for as long as I like! Or I can withdraw it, if I prefer.
Kiva has gotten a ton of great press lately. Here are a few highlights:
'Revolutionising how donors and lenders in the US are connecting with small entrepreneurs in developing countries.'-- BBC
'If you've got 25 bucks, a PC and a PayPal account, you've now got the wherewithal to be an international financier.'-- CNN Money
'Smaller investors can make loans of as little as $25 to specific individual entrepreneurs through a service launched last fall by Kiva.org.'-- The Wall Street Journal
As of this writing, 13 people (including Greta Van Susteren of Fox News) have loaned Edina a total $625. She still needs $725 to fully fund her loan request. As you can see by these numbers, when each person lends a small amount, it can make a huge difference for a family in the developing world. With just $25, you can make a loan and change someone's life. Will you?
2 comments:
thank you for this info Jenny! I'll talk to Wink about doing this with some of our tax return money. What a great program that allows us to help out, even in small amounts.
Cool! Let me know who you decide to lend to!
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