Microlending really came into its own in 2006. Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank won the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to “create social and economic development from below.” The basic idea behind microlending is that if you provide a loan for as low as, say $10-$50, you can provide an impoverished person with the money to start a grocery, barber shop, tailoring service, or any other enterprise, and so promote the well being of both the borrower and his local community. Most of these people and communities have either been ignored by commercial banks or their home countries do not have adequate banking systems. This is not charity. Repayment rates are better than those experienced by a lot of credit card or finance companies. Some banks discovered this and are now starting their own microlending departments.
Now you, too, can become a microlender and, for as little as $25, directly help a specific entrepreneur lift themselves out of poverty. Kiva.org has established relationships with microlenders around the world. Specific business proposals are presented on the website, and you chose exactly the businesses you want to support. Processing is handled through paypal. Kiva is a non-profit organization and your loans won’t earn any interest. Still, this is not charity, and you can watch the success of the endeavors you support unfold through monthly updates.
February 25th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
Thanks for the link to kiva.org! Love the books project, too.
March 28th, 2007 at 9:20 am
NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF made the same comment in his column in today’s New York Time. “You, Too, Can Be a Banker to the Poor.” Here is the link.
http://select.nytimes.com/2007/03/27/opinion/27kristof.html?hp
October 30th, 2007 at 9:51 am
Update from the editor: bend of bay put a little money into kiva loans around the time this post was written. So far not a single payment has been missed. That’s right, zero delinquencies. All loans are just about fully repaid, and the repayments will be used to make new loans.
November 9th, 2008 at 1:13 am
Update from the editor: Our Kiva borrowers have never missed a payment and we continue to make new loans from the same initial pool of cash.
December 24th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Update from the editor: Any commissions received from amazon.com for sales of items linked to our pages are used to make new loans.
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June 16th, 2009 at 1:18 am
In spite of the global economic meltdown, all our kiva borrowers continue to pay on time. As loans are repaid, we re-lend the money to other borrowers.
October 21st, 2009 at 1:56 am
Still no losses. Not a penny! Commissions from links on our pages are used to make new loans.