Kiva

Kiva.org exists to alleviate global poverty, and does so by bringing together low-income entrepreneurs in the developing world and people looking to participate in the fight against global poverty. The idea for Kiva was born in 2004 when the founders were working with a microfinance institution in Uganda. They were amazed by the powerful, positive impact of microfinance, but saw no way to participate themselves (they had $50 to loan to a Ugandan farmer, but how?). Kiva.org believes that empowering the poor to work their way towards economic independence is a sustainable way in which to fight global poverty.

Kiva is the first person-to-person micro-lending Web site, creating a way for individuals to connect with and make personal loans to small businesses in developing countries. Kiva.org partners with microfinance institutions across the globe, giving them access to Kiva.org's website to post their funding needs for loans to micro-entrepreneurs. Individuals across the globe fund these loans by sending payments via PayPal. Repaid loans are returned to individual lenders, which can be withdrawn or used to help someone else.

Kiva.org's ultimate beneficiaries are micro-entrepreneurs who need a loan to start or expand a small business. Kiva's secondary beneficiaries are microfinance institutions for whom Kiva.org both provides an additional source of debt capital and provides an average 9% savings on their cost of capital. Finally, Kiva.org provides a way for individuals to connect with micro-entrepreneurs around the world and directly participate in microfinance.

For more information, visit these sites: Kiva Friends (www.kivafriends.org), Kivapedia (www.kivapedia.org), Kiva MySpace (www.myspace.com/kivaloans)

www.kiva.org