Bypass banks - you can microlend to the world’s working poor
Meet Filomena Gonzales de Chambi, shopkeeper and entrepreneur, from La Paz, Bolivia. She’s just one of the hundreds of people eligible for a microloan to develop her business. Kiva Microfunds is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website. If you have 20 euros to spare, you can choose an entrepreneur you’d like to lend to: perhaps a water spinach farmer in Cambodia, a grocer in Tajikstan or a shoemaker in Tanzania…? The entrepreneurs are referred by local microfinance institutions, and shown on the website with their photo and details about what they would use the loan for. Loans are usually repaid after about 6-12 months, during which time you can receive email journal updates and track repayments. Once you’re repaid, you can relend to someone else in need. Power to the people!
Tags: entrepreneurs, microfinance, microloan
