Uganda and Peanut Butter; A Success Story

There is a great video from PBS Frontline, however, my computer will not let me embed the video.

http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/uganda601/video_index.html

This link will take you to the PBS website, where you will be able to watch the video, and read more about success stories. This is a truly interesting story, and I highly recomend checking it out.

Kiva- In Depth

What Kiva Does-
Kiva prides itself on being "the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world". What this means is the lender has the power to choose to whom they make their loan. Lenders can be assured that they are not just throwing their money away because Kiva partners with "expert microfinance institutions" who hand pick qualified, dedicated entrepreneurs to ensure that only deserving people receive the loans. Finally Kiva prides itself on it's transparency, "We are constantly working to make the system more transparent to show how money flows throughout the entire cycle, and what effect it has on the people and institutions lending it, borrowing it, and managing it along the way."

How Kiva Works-
There are five simple steps to making a loan through Kiva.
1. Lenders choose an entrepreneur they want to support.
2. Lenders make their donation using PayPal or Credit cards. Kiva makes sure that the money is passed on to the correct institutions.
3. Kiva's partners distribute the money to the correct entrepreneur, as well as provide managerial training.
4. As the entrepreneurs build up savings they pay back the lender. Updates on the business ventures of the entrepreneur are e-mailed to the lender, and posted on the Kiva website.
5. Lenders can re-lend their money to another deserving entrepreneur, donate their money to Kiva to help cover operational expenses, or they can withdraw their funds.

For More Information-
For blogs, journals, success stories, and an opportunity to lend money go to the Kiva website at; www.Kiva.org

Grameen Foundation and Namaste

Here are some more organizations that provide Microloan opportunities.

Grameen Foundation- Empowering People, Changing Lives Innovating the Worlds Poor.
Site: www.grameenfoundation.org
Here is a video that is an excellent source of information on the Grameen Family Bank.


~~~

Namaste Direct- Ending Poverty One Loan at a Time.
Site: www.namaste-direct.org
This video focuses on the changes being created in a Mayan village, as well as some background information on the organization.

Kiva and FINCA

If you are interested in doing some research on your own here are some great organizations to look into; FINCA (Foundation for International Community Assistance) and Kiva World Bank. Here is a brief overview of each foundation. I will be posting a more in depth look at each later on.

~~~

Kiva- Loans that Change Lives.

Link: http://www.kiva.org/

Kiva was founded in 2005. They allow lenders to choose to whom they donate, they are the first microloan bank to support that feature. Their website provides information about their past, and where they hope to go in the future. They also have featured lenders as well as featured entrepreneurs.

One of the best features on their site is the "Impact this Week". This is a scrolling text that states; the number of new lenders who joined the site this week. The number of entrepreneurs funded this week. The number of loans completely repaid this week. The number of hours it takes (on average) for the full amount of a loan to be acquired. And the amount of money lent each week.

~~~

FINCA- Small Loans-Big Changes

Link- http://www.villagebanking.org/

Founded in 1985 FINCA was the first organization to support the idea that credit not charity was the best way to help the poor. FINCA is aimed at helping empower working women and their families.

There are no hidden fees taken away from the money lent, with all mailings they include a pie chart to show exactly where the money goes. 3% goes towards fundraising, 6% goes to General and Administrative, and 91% goes to Program Services, or the poor that the money is meant to go to. This breaks down to $1,488,203 going to fundraising, $3,374,861 going to General and Administrative, and $47,148,936 going to Program Services. This totals $52,012,000 annually.

~~~

These are both worthy causes. I highly recommend exploring the sites on your own. In future posts I will go into more depth about how each of these organizations work.