Kiva is a great organization, in which you can help empower an entrepreneur in a third world country by making a small loan. You lend small amounts of money (as low as $25) to a specific entrepreneur, helping end global poverty one person at a time. You will receive email update messages about the businesses you are supporting. A typical loan lasts 6-12 months. Kiva will send you updates when your entrepreneur begins to repay the loan. I received this message today:
The business you have loaned to, Ventas de Ropa Martha , has made a repayment of $63.00. The total amount repaid up to now is $63.00. The payment was collected and deposited by MIFEX. This repayment will be divided amongst all the lenders who helped to fund this business, depending upon the percentage each lender contributed. Note that you cannot actually withdraw or reloan these funds until after the loan term is complete.
I couldn’t understand some parts of this article Kiva.org-Loans that Change Lives, but I guess I just need to check some more resources regarding this, because it sounds interesting.
Daniel,
Sorry if my post was confusing. The process is really simple. Through Kiva, you make loans to individuals in third world countries. 100% of you loan goes to the individual, and you can browse businesses you want to loan money to on their website. Then, you are paid back the loan over a period of time. Once you loan is repaid in full, you can donate it to Kiva, reinvest in another individual, or just collect your money.
Terrific view covering Kiva.org-Loans that Change Lives! Always enjoy your write ups!