I fell in love with Kiva. Actually I think its one of the sexiest projects on the Web right now, along with Wikipedia et al.
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.
http://www.kiva.org/about
I first heard about Kiva over at Stefan some while ago. And a few weeks ago I granted my first two $25 loans to two Mexican entrepreneurs.
Cool things about Kiva:
- The repayment rate is 95%, i.e. the lended money can be used over and over again
- Absolute transparency with fotos and journals
- Already over $3 Mio lended
More Links:
- Interview with Kiva’s President Premal Shah
- Stefan about his first investments
- Documentary about Kiva
- Article about Social Entrepreneurship of Adrian Locher
Thanks Remo, for linking me! Kiva is really a hot projekt! It makes me very happy, to see where my money goes. Not to an Anonymous but a person with full name and his personal story.
I’m also a Kiva-loaner now… ;-)
Kiva.org is one of the finest efforts ever on the Internet to link up human beings. There is no feeling so good as to lend a helping hand to hard working individuals in countries you may never even see. We’ve raised awareness with our small effort (http://talkathon.org) and everyone who participated as a host joined kiva and we’re all lenders now.
The next step is for everyone with a blog to do what you’ve done, talk about it. Hats off to you.
Yes, I support Kiva too. I just funded 3 businesses last night and am starting a group to create awareness about Kiva.
[...] Two months after my first two $25 loans at Kiva, 50% of the money has already been paid back. It has to be noted that you cannot actually withdraw or reloan these funds until after the loan term is complete. In my case this means 3-12 months, i.e. I should be able to reuse those funds by the end of the year. [...]
[...] Four months after my first Kiva-investments, my first loan was paid back 100%. [...]
[...] My second Kiva-loan has been repaid recently. That means that my first two loans were repaid 100%. I reinvested the money in Guatemala and added three new investments to my portfolio (now containing 7 investments). [...]
I only came across Kiva the other day. Ive not had time to sign up yet, but its on my to do list. I think its a great idea. Well done Remo. :)