Kiva revisited March 21, 2007
Posted by James Webster in : finance , trackbackSince my first post about Kiva, I have committed myself to contributing to one new loan per month. Recently Kiva added projects in the South Pacific to their list of entrepreneur seeking microcredit. The entrepreneur that I contributed capital to this month lives in Samoa and Jim Young, trustee of microfinance organisation South Pacific Business Development, added the following comment:
Thank you for your Kiva loan to the business person in Samoa. I am on the Board of South Pacific Business Development (SPBD), the Samoan based microfinance institution which will administer your loan.
My wife and I just returned from our 1st trip to Samoa where we spent 2 days meeting with all the members of the staff and clients. There are 16 full time employees who are energetic and dedicated to helping our clients help themselves and their families. We also attended 3 village meetings where we met with the entrepreneurs and saw some of their businesses. It is amazing to see the impact these businesses are having on their life.
It is great to hear messages like this and find out that these initiatives are really working!
A few other microfinance links that I have come across since first talking about Kiva;
- The MIX Market: a ‘global information exchange for the microfinance industry. The MIX Market strives to facilitate exchange and investment flows, promote transparency and improve reporting standards in the microfinance industry’. For example, SPBD’s entry reveals they are rated ‘4 out of 5 diamonds’; MIX Market’s scheme for classifying microfinance funds/organisations by transparency & disclosure.
- Mifos, or Microfinance Open Source: An open platform to support the operations of microfinance organisations built on a fairly standard Java stack. Supported by the Grameen Foundation. See also the SourceForge page and the wiki.
If you are able to read this blog then it might be within your means to contribute $25USD towards a loan for an entrepreneur that is seeking to grow a sustainable business, who would otherwise be cut off from capital. If you can contribute, I encourage you to do so!
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