Nov 15 2008
Invest in The World Economy
Kerri came to me today and told me about these wonderful new organizations specializing in loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries. These small-business owners are looking to expand their businesses and seeking capital to do so. Immediately I was taken by this and decided that we would become participants. So, we’ve started a TEAM @ KIVA:
http://www.kiva.org/team/newpossibilitiesgroup
Kiva will allow you to lend as little as $25 to an entrepreneur to chase their dreams. In my research, I’ve found that of the 26,000+ loans, only 1100+ have defaulted. And a lot of those were paid back partially.
How does it work? Kiva teams with local organizations who distribute and collect the funds. When your loan is paid back, you can reinvest, withdraw or donate it to Kiva. You earn no interest (I assume there is interest and Kiva takes it to run its operation and pay commissions to Paypal), but you do earn good mojo. I’ve invested in Nigeria, Cambodia, Paraguay and Ukraine so far and we plan to do more shortly. Keep in mind also that your investments don’t appear to be tax deductible.
I encourage all of our friends and family to join our group above, aptly named the “New Possibilities Group” - the name of my internet consulting outfit. It takes just $25 and you will be updated as your projects take shape. Happy investing!
Nice writing. You are on my RSS reader now so I can read more from you down the road.
Allen Taylor
Hi Pete,
I am so glad you guys are supporting KIVA! I did a whole paper about micro-loans for one of my MBA classes and was also impressed by there success.
Bye!
Amy