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About
Dr Mike J Smith
Kingston University
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Kiva: try some philanthropy
I recently came across Kiva, "the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website." Kiva is a charity that links with microfinance institutions on the ground in developing countries to enable targeted lending to individuals, helping them improve their life, often through small business development. Kiva is simply a platform for lending money, allowing you to search through current lending "bids" (by location, amount, business sector etc) and offer to lend money from $25 up to to any maximum. Microfinance institutions are graded as to reliability and you can see how successful repayment by individuals within the institution is. The term of the loan and repayment options are spelled out and, once lended, you get semi-regular updates on the loan. No interest is charged and at the end of the loan cycle you can then opt to re-invest.
For those not averse to a bit of philanthropy, Kiva offers a fantastic way to lend money and actually make a real difference to those that require a loan. Not only that, but you become actively involved in the project and see what effects targeted loans, with no middle-men, can really make.
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