Kiva
13 Apr
Got some extra cash? Want to empower people through financing?
Be a loaner!
So I just made my first Kiva loans.
I figure…if I can afford to eat out as much as I do, and spend unnecessary (and sometimes copious) amounts on entertainment, drinks, and travel…I can afford to lend money to someone who needs it more than I do.
Enter Kiva.
I just lent money to 3 individual entrepreneurs from 3 different countries.
One sells books and comics in Ecuador.
One raises guinea pigs in Peru.
One farms bananas in the Philippines.
Over time, they will repay their loans.
I will then receive my initial investment back.
Then I will re-lend it to other entrepreneurs who need funding.
You may have some questions on how this whole operation works.
I can’t explain it like kiva.org can, so I’ve pulled some information from their website with links below.
I hope you’ll join the loaner movement.
[if you already aren't a part of it :)]
What is Kiva?
Kiva’s mission is to connect people, through lending, for the sake of alleviating poverty.
Kiva empowers individuals to lend to an entrepreneur across the globe. By combining microfinance with the internet, Kiva is creating a global community of people connected through lending.
Learn more
How Kiva Works:
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1) Field partners approve and disperse a microloan to an entrepreneur in their community
2) The entrepreneur’s profile and story is uploaded onto kiva.org
3) Lenders (potentially you) browse through kiva.org and choose someone to lend to using paypal or a credit card
4) Kiva provides the loan to the field partners
5) The entrepreneur repays their loan over time
6) Lenders get their money back and can re-lend to another entrepreneur, donate their funds to Kiva (to cover operational expenses), or withdraw their funds to their PayPal accounts
Amazing, Andrea!! I’ve been meaning to do this for awhile now but I think I’m going to finally do it! Do you know how the entrepreneurs you’re supporting are doing? Is it possible to get in contact with them?
Hi Justine!
I’m happy to say that I’ve received Kiva updates on my loans and that the entrepreneurs I’ve chosen to support are busy with their stores/farms now that they have to funds to start/expand their businesses.
On top of this, half my loans have already been repaid so I am planning to use these funds to support other entrepreneurs once I do some research on who I want to support :)
Once you’ve chosen to lend, you will get updates about your borrowers from the associated Kiva Field Partner(s). You can comment on each update which will be sent to the Field Partner(s); however/unfortunately, I don’t think you can directly contact the entrepreneur.
Happy Lending! :)