Public Service Announcement!
I found out about Kiva.org back in February and when I checked it out, I made it my Belated New Years Resolution for 2008.
Kiva is a non-profit that allows you to lend as little as $25 to a specific low-income entrepreneur in the developing world. You choose who to lend to - whether a baker in Afghanistan, a goat herder in Uganda, a farmer in Peru, a restaurateur in Cambodia, or a tailor in Iraq - and as they repay their loan, you get your money back. It’s a powerful and sustainable way to empower someone right now to lift themselves out of poverty. Kiva lenders reside all over the world.
Vidalina, Maximina, and Gladis have belonged to the community bank “Virgen de Cocharcas” for nine, three, and six years respectively. They say they joined the community bank because they felt like the leaders had confidence in them. Since joining the community bank they have learned the importance of saving and self-esteem.
Vidalina is 53 years old. She is married and has two children. Vidalina was scared when she joined the community bank, and almost withdrew just a few months after joining. Nine years later she feels much more confident and happy that she has continued to ba a member. Vidalina is an artisan weaver who makes beautiful blankets and other products. She has been weaving for over twenty-five years.
Maximina is 48 years old. She is single and has one child. Maximina raises pigs and has recently started raising guinea pigs, which are considered a delicacy in Peru. She has been raising animals for two years, before that she sold emoliente, which is a warm beverage made from local herbs and seeds.
Gladis is 40 years old. She is a widow and has three children aged 20, 18, and 4. Gladis sells coca leaves, which are used for medicinal purposes and to make a delicious tea. Gladis travels to the jungle region to buy the coca leaves and then sells them all around the region of Ayacucho.
Vidalina, Maximina, and Gladis need loans of 1400, 600, and 1000 soles (3 soles = $1), which they will use to buy wool, thread, guinea pig food, and to make basic home improvements.
Their dreams are to start exporting products internationally, to have security old age, and that their children will finish their education.
Liz is a member of the communal bank Loreto, located in the Jr. Comandante Suárez No. 344, distrito de Calleria, departamento de Ucayali. Liz is 26 years old and is the mother of 1 child. With the first loan she received from Manuela Ramos, in the amount of S/300, she invested in the retail sale of groceries. With a lot of hard work she was able to set up a small store and thanks to the loans she has received from Manuela Ramos she is able to stock it with a variety of products used in everyday life.
The S/3,000 loan, that she will pay in 5 months, will be used to purchase 2 sacks of rice, 1 sack of sugar, 2 boxes of milk, 2 boxes of sodas, 1 box of cooking oil, etc.
At the beginning, Liz had a lot of doubts about earning a living selling groceries, but with time and the support she received from Manuela Ramos, she realized that her business was starting to be successful. With her husband's support Liz hopes to continue to grow not only as a woman but as a businesswoman.
Rosa is thirty-six years old. She is married and has three children between the ages of thirteen and eight. Rosa joined the community bank “Virgen de Cocharcas” Thirteen years ago with a savings of US $1. Over the past thirteen years Rosa has found support and learned to save and be responsible.
Rosa owns a store located in her house in a small town outside of Ayacucho where she sells food staples such as flour, rice, and sugar. She has owned this store for eight years. Five years ago she was able to buy a photocopy machine with a loan from the community bank that has made her business more profitable. On the weekends, Rosa travels to regional markets to buy grains that she then grinds in to flour and sells. Rosa is hoping to open a second store in the city of Ayacucho.
Rosa needs a loan of 1400 soles (3 soles = $1), which she will use together with her savings to open the second store.
Rosa dreams that her children will be successful, and hopes to eventually be able to buy them a piece of land.
Lest you think all borrowers are from Peru:
- Freddy in Nicaragua is repaying $500 USD over 14 mos
- Mahbuba isn Tajjikistan is repaying $775 USD over 8 mos
- Juana in the Dominican Republic is repaying $250 USD over 6 mos
- Tuyakboy in Tajikistan is repaying $625 USD over 6 mos
Lending people money through Kiva is neither an investment nor charity. It is a form of microfinance. This week alone, as of this writing:
8,596 lenders made a loan.
1 loan was made every 33 seconds.
651 gift certificates purchased.
1,524 entrepreneurs funded.
2,365 new lenders joined.
583 loans completely repaid.
$627,250.00 lent.
None of the money you loan around the world is considered charity so there is no tax-deduction you may take for that portion. Similarly, none of the money you loan is considered an invesment so there is no residual, no (monetary) return on investment, no finance charges or interest collected by you. You are making a loan to help another human being make a better life for themselves and their family.
You can, however, be smart about it. My stats (below) show that it's possible to be ahead of the curve if you pay attention to a few simple things.
Statistic Name
Me
Avg. Kiva User*
Total Amount Loaned
$275
$118
Total Amount Repaid
$100
$67
Amount of Ended Loans not Repaid in Full
$0.00
$0.640
Amount of Ended Loans
$75.00
$38.859
Default Rate
0.00%
1.65%
Delinquency Rate
0.00%
3.85%
Each loan request tells you about the Field Partner. I never choose a field partner that has less than a five star rating. Ever.
I also cross-reference the Time on Kiva against the length of the loan repayment terms requested. If someone is asking for a loan to be repaid over 14 mos but the lender has only been with Kiva for three months, I move on. I have yet to log on and NOT be able to find a "worthwhile" loan.
(Most of the five star field partners have a 0.00% Delinquency and 0.00% Default rate as well but you should also check that as a matter of course.)
For the most part, I will also loan to people who intend to repay with shorter schedules over longer schedules. The sooner I get my $25 credited back, the sooner I can loan it to someone else!
Next, each loan request tells you about the Entreprenuer. A loan request is put up for a period of 30 days. Most are funded within the first 24 hours but occasionally a loan may go unfunded. (If you select a loan that doesn't get fully funded, the loan is turned down & your Kiva account is recredited so you can try again.)
I usually look for business people who are already generally successful with their businesses. I read the "business plan / loan proposal" to see that their ideas jibe with what I consider to be a sound business step.
Sound Business Example: Gloria works in the sale of irapay leaves, which are used to cover the roofs of country houses as well as for other uses. She has sold this product for a long time, but a small disadvantage exists in that her product is kept outdoors; she needs to construct an adequate space to protect her inventory from the rain.
I also generally tend to look for personal details that speak to me -- is the person my age, are they engaged in something I would appreciate (furniture is cool, slaughtering animals not so much), is the spouse also working to provide income for the family, etc.
Each month, I put another $25 into Kiva and fund another entrepreneur. One of my original loans was repaid today so I had a $25 Kiva credit, which I promptly set out to re-loan. My "problem" this morning was that I found so many good, worthwhile loan requests and I only had credit to fund one of them!
Please consider joining Kiva and helping one of these women ...
Yolanda in Peru, $550 USD over 6 mos, PRISMA field partner on Kiva for 12 mos, having made loans totaling $1,205,575 to 2,459 people with 0.00%/0.00% Default/Delinquent
Dorcas in Nigeria, $875 USD over 8 mos, LAPO field partner on Kiva for 21 mos, having made loans totaling $1,329,075 to 2,240 people with 0.00%/0.00% Default/Delinquent
Marcela in Peru, $375 USD over 6 mos, PRISMA field partner (see above)
Lun in Cambodia, $1,200 USD over 18 mos, CREDIT field partner on Kiva for 27 mos, having made loans totaling $1,998,525 to 2,711 people with 0.00%/0.00% Default/Delinquent
Rosa in Peru, $725 USD over 6 mos, PRISMA field partner (see above)
Lizzy in Nigeria, $1,200 USD over 8 mos, LAPO field partner (see above)
In the time it's taken me to get from re-loaning the Kiva credit to drafting this post, this other loan has already been fully funded & will be disbursed thanks to generous people such as yourselves ...
Hilda in Mexico, $675 USD over 6 mos, Admic Nacional field partner on Kiva for 23 mos, having made loans totaling $1,437,250 to 2,784 people with 0.00%/0.00% Default/Delinquent
In our daily lives, where we have air conditioning, heat, food in the refrigerator and pantry, a grocery store nearby, the internet on our very own computers, surely $25 is a small bit to share with someone else to make their lives better?
(So maybe PMS is getting the better of me today but this really means a lot to me. I really believe in this. If we can't help one another, what are we doing?)