Micro-Lending
What is micro-lending?
• Microcredit is the extension of very
small loans (microloans) to those in
poverty designed to spur
entrepreneurship. These individuals
lack collateral, steady employment and
a verifiable credit history and
therefore cannot meet even the most
minimal qualifications to gain access
to traditional credit.
Why microcredit?
• Microcredit emphasizes building
capacity of a micro-entrepreneur,
employment generation, trust
building, and help to the microentrepreneur on initiation and during
difficult times.
• Microcredit is a tool for socioeconomic
development.
Using the Web to micro-lend
• Multiple Internet-based organizations
have developed platforms that
facilitate a modified form of peer-topeer lending where a loan is not made
in the form of a single, direct loan, but
as the aggregation of a number of
smaller loans. There are several ways
by which the general public can
participate in alleviating poverty using
Web platforms.
Small Loans. Big Impact.
Can a $50 loan really make a significant impact on
a person’s life?
Absolutely!
• While $50 may seem small, it is important to
remember that the working poor typically live on
less than $2 a day. To them, a $50 loan is
roughly equivalent to an entire months’ income.
With that extra income, they can buy supplies or
equipment that can help them start new
businesses or earn more income from their
existing businesses.
Kiva's mission is to connect
people, through lending, for the
sake of alleviating poverty.
• Kiva empowers individuals to lend to an
entrepreneur across the globe. By combining
microfinance with the Internet, Kiva is creating a
global community of people connected through
lending.
• As of November 2009, Kiva has facilitated over
$100 million in loans.
"Kiva" is a Swahili word which means
"unity" or "agreement".
Kiva was co-founded by Matt and
Jessica Flannery, when they were 28
and 27 respectively.
PayPal provides Kiva with free
payment processing. Kiva's is the first
account at PayPal with a free payment
processing agreement.
Anyone with an email address can
create a Kiva Account. Anyone who
can make payments using a credit
card or PayPal account can be a Kiva
Lender.
You can lend as part of any number of teams on
the Kiva website, such as the CSU team or the
Stuff You Should Know Podcast team
How Kiva Works
Kiva was born of the following beliefs:
• People are by nature generous, and will help others if given
the opportunity to do so in a transparent, accountable way.
• The poor are highly motivated and can be very successful
when given an opportunity.
• By connecting people Kiva hopes to create relationships
beyond financial transactions, and build a global community
expressing support and encouragement of one another.
How
Works
1) It all starts with our Field Partners, which are
microfinance institutions operating around the world.
2) The Field Partner uploads the entrepreneur’s profile to
Kiva’s website.
3) Lenders like you browse the entrepreneurs’ profiles and
choose someone to lend to, using PayPal or their credit
cards (as little as $25!).
4) Kiva provides the funds to our Field Partners.
5) Over time, the entrepreneur repays her loan.
6) When lenders get their money back, they can re-lend to
another entrepreneur, donate their funds to Kiva (to
cover operational expenses), or withdraw their funds
to their PayPal accounts.
Microloan is committed to helping
the poorest of the poor to help
themselves in order to change their
lives for the better.
• Microloan’s key objectives are the relief
of poverty, the advancement of
education and the relief of sickness in
the developing world through the
provision of microloans and grants. The
services are charitable and not-forprofit.
• Microloan provides small loans to groups
of women across sub-Saharan Africa.
Our mission is to use micro-lending
to promote economic opportunity and
political stability in the Middle East.
• LendforPeace.org is a not-for-profit Internet platform
that allows individuals like you to make small loans to
specific micro-entrepreneurs in the Palestinian
Territories.
• Using the site, you can make a loan directly to a vetted
micro-entrepreneur in the West Bank. LendforPeace
work with US government-approved microfinance
institutions on the ground to deliver your capital along
with training and guidance to low-income individuals
who are interested in starting or expanding their own
small businesses.
• Founded by two Jews and two Palestinians,
LendforPeace.org was created to enable people of all
faiths and backgrounds to make a tangible difference in
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Pro Mujer provides poor women in Latin America
with the means to build livelihoods for themselves
and futures for their families through microfinance,
business training, and healthcare support.
• Pro Mujer fights poverty by establishing sustainable
microfinance organizations that provide an integrated package
of financial and human development services that women
require to build and improve their small businesses.
• With a steady income, good health, and improved self-esteem,
women are empowered to become agents of change and lift
themselves and their families out of poverty.
• Pro Mujer currently operates in Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico,
Nicaragua and Peru, and has plans to expand into other
countries in Latin America.
• US$159 million in loans were disbursed in 2009.
• Currently serves 202,000 clients and approximately one
million children and extended family members.
MicroPlace’s mission is to help
alleviate global poverty by enabling
everyday people to make investments
in the world’s working poor.
• MicroPlace is a social business owned by eBay.
MicroPlace wants to alleviate global poverty by offering
investments that enable loans to hardworking poor
people.
• What's a social business? It's a financially sustainable
company that has a social mission.
• A loan of a $20 can allow a poor woman to start a
business and work her way out of poverty. In many
countries, organizations that function like banks make
loans to the poor. These organizations need funds to
lend to the poor. Your investment helps fund these
organizations. You are paid a return for the funds you
invest. You can fight poverty and get your money back
with interest!
*This website gives you back your money back with interest,
unlike the other sites which are interest-free, which do you think
is more helpful to those in need?
Created by
Bonnie Sizer
Resident Assistant
Colorado State University
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