Fancy connecting and supporting personally a person with a small project that would take him or her out of misery in the remotest developing country?
Micro-finance is a concept which brought Mohamad Yunus a Nobel Prize. The concept is simple: in developing countries, banks will not lend small amounts to needy people who would just need a few dollars to setup their business or invest in something valuable.
Micro-finance concentrates on micro-loans: a few dozen dollars, a hundred at the most. Often loaned to women, repayment rates are astonishing – generally more than 99%.
That’s where the Fourth Revolution comes in. Non-profits like Kiva.org allow you to extend micro-loans to needy but industrious people in developing countries.
OK, a lot of non profits are doing that.
Yes, but – on Kiva.org you choose who you are lending to!!
Using Kiva’s web site, you can read about local entrepreneurs all over the world and issue your own micro-loan to the ones you are impressed by. So far, Kiva has facilitated 300,000+ loans in 200+ countries for a total of $200+ million dollars that has changed hands—and the repayment rate is an amazing 98.79%. Keep an eye on them, because they represent the future of charity and micro-lending. Their total loans (number and value) have grown almost tenfold in 4 years.
At the click of a mouse you can directly give a loan to someone, participate in micro-finance. Visit Kiva.org for more information!
Who says the Fourth Revolution does not connect people across the world?