Kiva is a nonprofit, p2p microloan company designed to promote entrepreneurship in developing countries. Founded in October of 2005, Kiva has financed US$21 million worth of loans coming from 242,000 lenders. You can be a lender.
The Kiva team initially focused its funding on the country of Uganda but has since opened up the offering nationwide. At Kiva.org you’ll find a loan profile and will have the opportunity to lend an amount as small as $25 to the cause. In the name of promoting entrepreneurship, no interest rates are charged, but 99,7% of donations are repaid within 12 months.
A sample loan profile from Wikipedia is available below:
- 51 year old fisherman with three children in Azerbaijan
- 12 years of experience
- Seeks 12 month loan for $725 USD in order to purchase a refrigerator
- Has already successfully repaid two prior microloan
Kiva.org represents the ultimate aha! By leaving our money in 1-2% checking and saving accounts we’re actually losing money to inflation on a yearly basis. By donating a small sum to a developing venture you have the chance to be part of an international phenomena – Kiva.org “loans that change lives”
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