Kiva is a project that allows you to make tiny loans, together with many other people, that accumulate to make a larger loan that will prove huge for an otherwise impoverished person. I’ve been making Kiva micro-loans for several years and in that time have been privileged to be involved in the escape from poverty of nearly 50 entrepreneurs in developing countries.
It seems Kiva has been given some money for a promotional campaign. They are offering a $25 credit to anyone who wants to open a new account and start making microloans themselves. I can’t see any down-side, so I recommend you get over to Kiva now and take them up on their offer. As of right now they have 2,440 free loans left to give away, so it’s worth doing now and not tomorrow!
Filed under: Zeitgeist |
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When I posted a similar comment on Facebook after lunch today, the site said that there were roughly 3,500 free trials available. A friend reported an hour ago that they were all gone, but the site is now telling me that there are nearly 3,800 available.
I’m concerned that Kiva will get a black eye out of this…
I sat watching the counter go down to zero earlier this evening, so I believe they genuinely cleared out their full quota in just a few hours. It would be good to see them say so and that they have reloaded the “gift bucket” though.
Why Interest rates are so high.
“To break even on the $500 loan, the MFI would need to collect interest of $50 + 5 + $25 = $80, which represents an annual interest rate of 16%. To break even on the $100 loan, the MFI would need to collect interest of $10 + 1 + $25 = $36, which is an interest rate of 36%.”
Kiva asked me to donate to them 17% of the amount I’m providing plus Kiva charges the ‘Lending Partners’ another 10%. So they get 27% of the amount loaned and the Lending Partners charge typically 16-36% on the loan.
Doesn’t that seem a little steep? Did I miss something?