Big Impact

Kiva is a micro-loan network that allows individual lenders to choose businesses from poor countries they would like to fund. It is a great tool that provides stories, journals, pictures, and necessary business information to help people like you and me find great ventures to invest in. The loans are small, and multiple lenders (not donors!) can be contribute. Once the total amount of the loan is collected from individual lenders then the money goes into action. The money is then paid back to the lenders on a predetermined schedule. Access to credit in many third world countries is out of reach for many people. Often times the interest rates are prohibitively expensive. Even people running successful businesses often have a hard time accessing the capital they need to grow. You can lend as little as $25. When you think about it most of us probably have $25 lying around the house in spare change. Kiva provides a great way for people to be connected, informed, and empowered on both sides of the lending process. Check out www.Kiva.org

By the way, the default rate for 4.8 million dollars in loans… 0.1%!