Kiva lets you lend to a specific entrepreneur in the developing world – empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty. You can loan as little as USD 25 and get paid the money back on succeed of the entrepreneurs business. I loaned some money myself to Eloy, a guy from Bolivia who does work in metal, such as doors and windows. He needed a loan of $ 300 for buying materials for his work. So I decided to contribute 25 $ plus an additional 2,50 $ (for covering overhead costs) to help him run his business. I will get paid back the 25 $ in monthly rates beginning with February 15th 2009, so the money is not “gone” and I can use the money afterwards to loan it to another person that needs a loan – or withdraw it from Kiva, if I need the money myself again (which is very unlikely in this case;-).
Because the system is so innovative and yet different from normal bank loans, I found this film that explains the Story of Kiva.org Loan.
A fistful of dollars: The story of a kiva.org loan
Visit Kiva.org
I love the idea of Kiva, great documentary, too short.
Pretty much just a long commercial for Kiva not really worth watching if you want substance.
A nice idea and what a great way to help change some peoples lives for the better.
great video – great idea – go kiva!
This is bank loaning without the means to self create money out of nothing, the way it should be! In a very small way its a wealth re-distributer, ild love to set up a business like this myself!
Joined Kiva today and made 4 loans of $25 🙂 Excellent video – I’ll be sure to pass it along to others. Lov’n the Kiva microfinancing model – it just makes so much sense to me!
So there isn’t a profit in this??
The profit is immeasurable. People helping people build better lives for themselves their families and their communities. Ask not what your pocketbook can do for you, ask what your pocketbook can do for people in situations you can’t even imagine.