Looking for a good way to help people trying to work to better their lives? Check out kiva.org. It's a website that allows you to make small micro-investments in loans to individuals for their small businesses around the world.
Micro-investing is a quickly growing service that reaches people who have no access to large banks. They are typically men or women in developing areas that are running small businesses like selling or making clothing, selling groceries or other similar endeavors. The loans are usually around, or under, $1000 and are made to meet modest needs.
Anyway...kiva.org lets you be part of these loans. You can click through the people asking for loans and select one of them to be part of their loan. A bunch of people donate a small amount to a loan and then when it's filled it is granted. All the loans are handled through reputable groups that deal in micro-banking. Your loan donation is handled through PayPal. When it's paid off, your portion of the loan is credited to your account and you can cash it out or reinvest it.
Cool deal. Check it out for yourself and take part if you want. You might find it satisfying.
Now...I'm going back there to pick someone to loan to.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Kiva is cool
Posted by Shawn at 11:59 AM
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4 comments:
OOH, I'm going to add this to my list of worth causes for sure. Microloans are SO beneficial to a lot of people, but especially to women in developing countries where there's social/cultural barriers to women's financial independence.
Great link!
Welcome back!
This is such a cool idea. I currently don't have extra funds to invest, but I'll definitely tell others about it.
I just love stuff like this. It's just so beneficial for the people that receive these microloans. It's a bit tearjerking when you read about a guy who wants to borrow $250 to buy some different colors of paint for his little auto body shop in Azerbijan, or a woman who wants $500 to buy the plot of land she's been renting and growing vegetables on.
And the story of the couple that started this particular website is really cool too. It's worth looking them up and reading their story. It's sweet.
That's really cool. I'll check that out.
I agree with what Laura said.
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