Microlending really came into its own this year. Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank won the Nobel Peace Prize this year 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 that 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.