Kiva, Make a Loan Change a Life

So, here is my latest obsession.

You know how people are always asking you for money. Charity drives at work, e-mails and phone calls, even people trying to hit you up while you are waiting at a stop light to get on the freeway.

Well, here is something different.

Kiva

Kiva does not ask you to give money, only to loan it. The idea is that many micro businesses in 3rd world countries can't raise capital to improve or expand their small business. These are people who live from day to day by selling firewood, or making clothing, or running a small food stall someplace. So these people who need loans apply to Kiva, Kiva posts a photograph and short description of what they need the money for. People chip in $25 a piece until the loan is funded. We are talking loans of $200 to $1000 here. Then they loan the people the money. As the people make payments, you get your money back. Some loans run for 6 months, some run for a year.

So you get to help someone who is working to help themselves, and it does not cost you anything in the end. Usually. There is about a 5% default rate. Businesses fail, people die, or the inflation rate runs wild and the money they use to pay you back is not longer worth $25. Sometimes Kiva gets scammed and the money is just gone. So there is a risk. But about 95% of the time you get your money back. You can either loan it to someone else, or withdraw it back into your Paypal account.

What could be better than helping people for free.

Here are the loans I have made.