Ok…so it’s not a product but an organization!
Ever wonder what $25.00 will do?
Did you ever think it would be enough (collectively) to change a life?
Do you want to have that warm, feel-good feeling knowing you are helping someone or an entire family make their life better?
Let me introduce you to Kiva.
From Kiva’s Website:
Kiva’s mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.
Kiva is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs around the globe.
The people you see on Kiva’s site are real individuals in need of funding – not marketing material. When you browse entrepreneurs’ profiles on the site, choose someone to lend to, and then make a loan, you are helping a real person make great strides towards economic independence and improve life for themselves, their family, and their community. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates and track repayments. Then, when you get your loan money back, you can relend to someone else in need.
Kiva partners with existing expert microfinance institutions. In doing so, we gain access to outstanding entrepreneurs from impoverished communities world-wide. Our partners are experts in choosing qualified entrepreneurs. That said, they are usually short on funds. Through Kiva, our partners upload their entrepreneur profiles directly to the site so you can lend to them. When you do, not only do you get a unique experience connecting to a specific entrepreneur on the other side of the planet, but our microfinance partners can do more of what they do, more efficiently.
Kiva provides a data-rich, transparent lending platform. We are constantly working to make the system more transparent to show how money flows throughout the entire cycle, and what effect it has on the people and institutions lending it, borrowing it, and managing it along the way. To do this, we are using the power of the internet to facilitate one-to-one connections that were previously prohibitively expensive. Child sponsorship has always been a high overhead business. Kiva creates a similar interpersonal connection at much lower costs due to the instant, inexpensive nature of internet delivery. The individuals featured on our website are real people who need a loan and are waiting for socially-minded individuals like you to lend them money.
We have been a member of Kiva since last year and have made several micro-loans. When those loans are paid back we simply reloan it back to another entrepreneur. We are happy to report that so far our loans have been repaid!
In our country $25.00 just isn’t a lot of money but to a struggling entrepreneur it could mean the survival of his/her entire family.
It is an empowering feeling knowing you are helping a person and their family earn a living in an impoverished country. Without you and several other $25.00 donators they simply do not have the borrowing opportunity available to them.
So sign up and browse their listing of entrepreneurs needing micro-loans. Make sure you read all of the information on the website before lending so you know how to lend to individuals who have a high percentage of paying back the loan.
Rebecca
Country Meadow Ltd.
Eco-Friendly Shea Butter Spa Products
www.countrymeadowltd.com