Kiva — Microlending
Oct 30th, 2005 by Jordan
Opening the microlending system, via Seth Godin’s Blog
This is very, very interesting. The premise is that you give a small loan, perhaps $150, to a business in Africa (via Kiva — they find the entrepeneurs and follow up with them), and over 6-12 months, they repay you.
Great way for people to give money and get something in return — their money back, as well as (the site says) a lot of information about directly where your money is going.
The downside? No interest on your loan. I get that it’s more about “revolving charity,” than about making money, but if there isn’t even a small return on your venture, then what’s going to draw people in? Doesn’t it seem like this is just going to be another philanthrophy exercise? Something to ponder.
Thinking about ways right now that you could get a group involved. The company I work for does a lot of charity-type stuff, and it could be interesting to see how this would work out there. More updates if I have them.