A few weeks ago a friend of mine told me about a very cool website called kiva.org. Kiva allows individuals with financial means to loan money to hard working entrepreneurs who need assistance building their businesses. The web site says that it facilitates loaning money to the working poor in developing nations.
Go to kiva.org and you can view profiles of individuals who need a loan in order to grow their businesses and provide for their families.
Pictured is Ijang Rose Musi. Ijang is a widow and mother of seven from Cameroon. She is a farmer who raises pigs and chickens. She uses the manure from her livestock for cultivation and sells her extra manure to other farmers in her community. Ijang uses the profits from her business to pay school fees for her children. Ijang is seeking a loan of $600 to invest in additional piglets, chickens, and feed. Internet users with a debit or credit card can loan money to Ijang on the kiva.org website, in increments of $25.
I found kiva.org to be very user friendly. On my first foray on Kiva I loaned some money to a hard working young couple from Cambodia. The couple own a farm and make their living by planting, cultivating crops and selling them in the market. Their daily income is $5 and they are using the loan proceeds to purchase a horse and cart for transporting their farms goods to market.
The attraction of kiva.org is that it is a very convenient way for ordinary people of means to make a difference in the lives of entrepreneurs in impoverished countries. I think you'll enjoy checking out the sight. Click here to go to kiva.org.
