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I've been sucked into Kiva. It is a micro-lending site which collects small loans from those able to give and passes it on to the borrower of their choice. People (usually living in third world countries) who are struggling to get their businesses off the ground will apply for loans with local organizations. Those organizations pass the info on to Kiva. Kiva posts the recipients profiles and pictures on their website. Lenders can choose to give $25 (or more) to the entrepreneur. That small donation is combined with others to provide the recipient with a larger loan. Then, over the course of six to twenty-four months, the money is paid back to all who loaned the money. You can even see the profiles of the people who are helping you fund the loan for your chosen borrower. And, for the cynics out there, the site has a 99% repayment rate from the borrowers. I think it is such a neat idea. I spent a few days browsing the site, but I finally made the plunge this afternoon and loaned $25 to Mok Sokhoan.
Mok is twenty-five years old and from Cambodia. She runs a small grocery store while her husband drives a motor-taxi. She needs the loan to stock her grocery store and buy her husband a new motorcycle for his job. There are several profiles up right now of people needing a loan, but this one jumped out at me as a good place to start. It's probably because she's about the same age as me. I can't imagine starting my own business.
From what I've seen, the site is quite popular, and most borrowers have their money raised within a couple days. I'll be very excited when Mok's account has enough money for her to receive her $600 loan. They even collect updates on the borrowers and post them for all the lenders to see. I hope she does well!
Mok is twenty-five years old and from Cambodia. She runs a small grocery store while her husband drives a motor-taxi. She needs the loan to stock her grocery store and buy her husband a new motorcycle for his job. There are several profiles up right now of people needing a loan, but this one jumped out at me as a good place to start. It's probably because she's about the same age as me. I can't imagine starting my own business.
From what I've seen, the site is quite popular, and most borrowers have their money raised within a couple days. I'll be very excited when Mok's account has enough money for her to receive her $600 loan. They even collect updates on the borrowers and post them for all the lenders to see. I hope she does well!
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