If you read our very busy sidebar, you will notice that we have pledged to donate/loan 10% of any profits through advertising, google ads, and affiliate programs to Kiva. Thus, we have invested in our first natural business. It was hard to pick a business, but we looked for the one that would help to support a family and was green minded. Thus, we chose, Dembele Mariam, whose business is natural medicines in the Cote D’Ivoirie.
Dembélé Mariam is married. She has 9 children. Her husband is a retired domestic electrician. Mariam is today the main resource contributor to her family. She is a traditional medicine products seller in Marcory, a suburb in the south of the Abidjan District. She is 51 years old, and her business has flourished since she started receiving microcredit from AE&I. That allowed her to buy a store in which she could do her business in a better and more hygienic environment. She will use the loan to diversify her products offered with cosmetics products. Mariam is honest and a good performer.
This is incredibly cool — it reminds me of the work that the Grameen Bank does, only on a more personal level for the donor. Please keep us posted on how you feel the process works!
Very cool idea!!!
I have loaned money through Kiva before. You get updates as the person pays back money, and sometimes they send updates on the business. When we get these emails, I will pass them on to our readers.
Thanks for posting this. I’d heard of Kiva before, but forgot all about it. We made two loans yesterday and plan to do more in the near future.
Kiva is a wonderful idea. While we can’t afford anything at this time on a tiny student’s salary, I pray that everyone will receive the help they need.