bangladesh
November 2008 
Kiva is stunningly cool
Posted on Apr 5th, 2007
by 
Brian
Brian
So I finally made my first loans over at Kiva.
Absolutely amazing.
I'm a huge fan of what Nobel Peace Prize-winning Muhammed Yunus is doing with Grameen Bank. His revolutionary micro-lending programs in Bangladesh are stunning in their simplicity and effectiveness.
There's no doubt that empowering entrepreneurship throughout the world is one of the critical factors in reducing poverty. There's obviously a lot that goes into making that happen: ranging from the power of economic freedom to the capital to get businesses going.
Enter Kiva.
Think Grameen on Web 2.0 steroids.
Deep bow to the brilliant and compassionate minds behind the project.
-bri
...
and a note from the site:
Hi!
I just made a loan to someone in the developing world using a revolutionary new website called Kiva.
You can go to Kiva's website and lend to someone in the developing world who needs a loan for their business - like raising goats, selling vegetables at market or making bricks. Each loan has a picture of the entrepreneur, a description of their business and how they plan to use the loan so you know exactly how your money is being spent - and you get updates letting you know how the business is going. The best part is, when the entrepreneur pays back their loan you get your money back - and Kiva's loans are managed by microfinance institutions on the ground who have a lot of experience doing this, so you can trust that your money is being handled responsibly.
I just made a loan to an entrepreneur named José Luis Pulido Cabrera in Mexico. They still need another $550.00 to complete their loan request of $1,000.00 (you can loan as little as $25.00!). Help me get this business off the ground by clicking on the link here to make a loan to José Luis Pulido Cabrera too.
It's finally easy to actually do something about poverty - using Kiva I know exactly who my money is loaned to and what they're using it for. And most of all, I know that I'm helping them build a sustainable business that will provide income to feed, clothe, house and educate their family long after my loan is paid back.
Join me in changing the world - one loan at a time.
Thanks!
Brian Johnson
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What others are saying about www.Kiva.org:
'Revolutionising how donors and lenders in the US are connecting with small entrepreneurs in developing countries.'
-- BBC
'If you've got 25 bucks, a PC and a PayPal account, you've now got the wherewithal to be an international financier.'
-- CNN Money
'Smaller investors can make loans of as little as $25 to specific individual entrepreneurs through a service launched last fall by Kiva.org.'
-- The Wall Street Journal
'An inexpensive feel-good investment opportunity...All loaned funds go directly to the applicants, and most loans are repaid in full.'
-- Entrepreneur Magazine
Access: PublicTagged with: kiva, grameen bank, muhammed yunus, bangladesh, entrepreneurs, michael strong, FLOW, micro-finance
Cool! I've been a fan of Kiva's for a long time :) They sound great!
Brian thank you for raising the profile of Kiva on Zaadz ….. wonderful!
myoho: agreed! (and love your hilarious profile cartoons. :)
Terrific Brian! We need some way to track the greater-zaadz kiva portfolio!
Good point, J…
Hmmmm…
we'll start a chat with them about that!
very cool, brian. we've been using the yunusian example in a number of our courses for a while, everything from economic modeling to “where's bangladesh.” thanks, man.
Very cool! :)
thanks for pointing the way… this was just enough of a push to get me to join in. Namaste!
Bri: I first found KIVA a few weeks ago when I was looking for ways to provide some longer term funding for Clovis, and, like you, i am completely impressed with everything about it. Thanks for bringing KIVA out to a wide audience here at Z. The funding wave of the future, for sure. Great example! :) HAPPINESS