On the ABC news tonight they spoke of an organization called Kiva, www.kiva.org. This is a group that lets people read the hopes and dreams of people living in second world countries trying to better themselves in small business. They need capital. They state the amount they need to get started and others through their computer donate by credit card. You can donate as little as $25.00 to an individual to their total request (I think the highest I saw was $1,200.00. The borrower then pays back the loan usually within 6 - 12 months. From what ABC news said, only one person has defaulted on the loan. Most of the people I saw were from Mexico or Nigeria or Ghana. However, I then checked the JOURNAL section and it listed a few Kenyans who either requested or had gotten loans. From what ABC said, this is a legitimate organization allowing us to help those more unfortunate. Exciting idea!
I'll paste their ABOUT page below
What We Do - We let you loan to the working poor
Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you've sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.
We partner with organizations all over the world
Kiva partners with existing microfinance institutions. In doing so, we gain access to outstanding entrepreneurs from impoverished communities world-wide. Our partners are experts in choosing qualified borrowers. That said, they are usually short on funds. Through Kiva.org, our partners upload their borrower profiles directly to the site so you can lend to them.
We show you where your money goes
Kiva provides a data-rich, transparent lending platform for the poor. We are constantly working to make the system more transparent to show how money flows throughout the entire cycle. The below diagram shows briefly how money gets from you to a third-world borrower, and back!
We facilitate connections
Kiva is using the power of the internet to facilitate one-to-one connections that were previously prohibitively expensive. Child sponsorship has always been a high overhead business. Kiva creates a similar interpersonal connection at much lower costs due to the instant, inexpensive nature of internet delivery. The individuals featured on our website are real people who need a loan and waiting for socially-minded individuals like you to lend them money.
