Kiva

Change the world one loan at a time - visit Kiva.org to find out how

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Update: This still looks like a great idea. But there are a few things I'd like to dig into a little deeper. Specifically:
- At a quick glance, I am not sure exactly what control there is over the "field partners", who profit through an interest rate received from the people receiving the loans. How high is that interest rate? Are the procedures followed in case the people default on their loans lenient enough? The field partners should be compensated for their efforts, but they don't risk any capital after all...
- Though I wouldn't participate in such a scheme in order to make money, I would prefer that there was a (small) compensation for the people lending money, in the form of a very small interest rate probably. I like more the idea of this being a way of making a difference from "within the rules of the market", rather than simply a different way of offering charity through an organisation, which is what this is, in essence, since the loaners undertake a risk with no compensation for it (other than the obvious moral compensation of having helped poor people improve their businesses and lives).
- There might be other such efforts that I am not aware of. I only accidentally bumped into this.