Similiar to Facebook that revolutionized social media, Kiva has revolutionized the micro finance industry. Recognized by many experts as one of the major things that would change the future of the world, it is time Kiva finds a mention in Indian media. While Nobel Peace Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus showed to the world that small loans could change the life of poor people, Kiva brings the advantages of technology and globalization to the micro finance industry.What does Kiva do?
Through its website, Kiva lets you and me to connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), the sponsor receives email journal updates from the business they have sponsored. When the loans are repaid, the sponsor gets his loan money back (but without any interest). For gaining access to outstanding entrepreneurs from impoverished communities world-wide, Kiva partners with existing microfinance institutions.
What Kiva has done?
Kiva has used the power of the internet to facilitate one-to-one connections that were previously prohibitively expensive. In its website, you will find hundreds of entrepreneurs in need of loans stating the purpose of the loans and how the loan money would be put to use. You can lend to any one you choose... from any part of the world...
Thanks to Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey, Kiva is swamped by lenders willing to lend to people they did not know and living in a far away country (Thanks to the demand created by the Oprah's television show, Kiva has limited lenders to a $25-portion of each loan so that many more people would get the opportunity to loan).
Visit kiva.org and check out for yourself. As some wise man said, "It is not the amount that helps, but the helping hand"
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