Last September, I introduced you to Kiva, the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending initiative in a post where I posed the question Can Micro-Finance Make a Macro-Difference? after being referred to the site by a fellow hoser.
In an attempt to answer that question, I decided to conduct an experiment. Since last July, I have been making a minimum of two loans a month under the hypothesis that if it works, after a year I will have enough capital in the Kiva system to help at least one new person every month as previous micro-loans get re-payed. To date, the doctor has made thirty-six $25 Kiva micro-loans (which get bundled with other micro-loans to fund loans to individuals and groups through Kiva’s micro-finance partners). Of these, 14 have been repaid in full and 17 have been partially repaid. In other words, Kiva is still working great and accomplishing its goal of making loans that change lives.
If you haven’t tried it out yet, why not give it a shot? Now it is true that lending to the working poor through Kiva involves risk of principal loss, as the site is careful to disclaim on every page, but over 90% of 99 active (& pilot) field partners have a 0% default rate (and none of its current active partners have a default rate of over 1%). It’s still less risky than investing in the stock market and mortgage funds. (As you can expect that over 99% of your principal will be returned to you, on average. How many of you can say that about your current investment portfolio?)
Furthermore, it now allows you to lend to small businesses in North America, including small businesses in the US! This means that you can now support your local business in a new way! So if you’re still lucky enough to have any discretionary funds left, why not take part of them and try lending through the Kiva platform? Considering that you can start for $25, or the cost of one good bottle of wine, it’s an endeavor that the vast majority of us should be able to afford. And if you do lend, remember to tell them that jeff <at> hosernews <dot> ca sent you (because one should give credit where credit is due). (And if you’re a fellow hoser, you can even consider joining his team.)
Finally, remember the inherent supply chain lesson. If a good supplier is in trouble in these hard financial times, key customers can band together to keep it financially solvent until times improve through faster payments, guaranteed orders, and low-interest loans. And, in addition to the good feeling these customers will get from knowing they did right, they can also secure long-term capacity from a strategic supplier. Let’s face it — most business people want to do the right thing when given the choice, and many will be quite happy to sign a long term contract or guarantee if you help to bail them out. This means that if you stick by a good supplier when it’s having a bad day, it’ll stick by you through thick and thin.
The following are the loans that the doctor has made since last July and their current status.
Individual | Institution | Total Loan | Loan Funded | Disbursed | Repayment Term | Repaid to Date* |
Gulchehra Rahimova | LLC MLO Humo and Partners | 1175 | Jun 28, 2008 | Jul 12, 2008 | 12 months | 100% |
Din Ly | CREDIT (World Relief) | 250 | Jun 28, 2008 | Jul 12, 2008 | 18 months | 077% |
Araba Awotwe | Christian Rural Aid Network (CRAN) | 350 | Aug 14, 2008 | Aug 28, 2008 | 07 months | 100% |
Serigne Cisse | UIMCEC (Christian Children’s Fund) | 975 | Aug 15, 2008 | Aug 29, 2008 | 12 months | 100% |
Mavluda Tosheva | LLC MLO Humo and Partners | 450 | Sep 01, 2008 | Sep 15, 2008 | 12 months | 100% |
Mario Aguilar | Fundacion Paraguaya | 475 | Sep 01, 2008 | Sep 15, 2008 | 11 months | 100% |
Irene | Microfinanzas PRISMA | 1200 | Oct 11, 2008 | Oct 25, 2008 | 06 months | 100% |
Sokhna Sene | UIMCEC (Christian Children’s Fund) | 300 | Nov 01, 2008 | Nov 15, 2008 | 12 months | 083% |
Essoneya Tchindo | WAGES | 300 | Nov 01, 2008 | Nov 15, 2008 | 12 months | 083% |
Guillermo | Microfinanzas PRISMA | 325 | Nov 01, 2008 | Nov 15, 2008 | 10 months | 100% |
Olinda | Microfinanzas PRISMA | 325 | Nov 27, 2008 | Oct 31, 2008 | 06 months | 100% |
Sron Chea Group | AMK | 200 | Nov 27, 2008 | Oct 28, 2008 | 04 months | 100% |
Kayi Lawson | Microfund Togo | 1175 | Jan 02, 2009 | Nov 17, 2008 | 18 months | 047% |
Abdulhokim Azimov | LLC MLO Humo and Partners | 600 | Jan 03, 2009 | Jan 17, 2009 | 10 months | 080% |
Feliciana Llano Ramirez | Manuela Ramos / CrediMUJER | 475 | Feb 04, 2009 | Jan 15, 2009 | 05 months | 100% |
Atta Ofori | Sinapi Aba Trust (SAT) | 525 | Feb 04, 2009 | Jan 26, 2009 | 10 months | 100% |
Moeun Sileng | CREDIT, a partner of World Relief | 1200 | Mar 01, 2009 | Feb 12, 2009 | 21 months | 100% |
Mohammad | Ameen s.a.l. | 1200 | Mar 01, 2009 | Feb 05, 2009 | 15 months | 058% |
Daniel Adu | Sinapi Aba Trust (SAT) | 725 | Apr 05, 2009 | Mar 26, 2009 | 08 months | 100% |
Adetokunbo Fajuke | Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO) | 500 | Apr 06, 2009 | Apr 20, 2009 | 10 months | 075% |
Mujeres Emprendedoras | Fundacion Paraguaya | 1125 | May 04, 2009 | Mar 31, 2009 | 06 months | 100% |
Crescencio Ruiz | Fundacion Paraguaya | 400 | May 04, 2009 | Apr 27, 2009 | 14 months | 041% |
Noemi Salamanca Gutierrez | Fundacion Leon 2000 | 425 | May 31, 2009 | May 18, 2009 | 11 months | 037% |
Crescencio Ozorio | Fundacion Paraguaya | 1000 | May 31, 2009 | May 18, 2009 | 13 months | 036% |
Hirma | Microfinanzas Prisma | 1000 | Jun 28, 2009 | Jun 09, 2009 | 10 months | 037% |
Komlanvi Gawonou Dzogbemah | Women and Associations for Gain both Economic and Social (WAGES) | 850 | Jun 28, 2009 | Jun 23, 2009 | 14 months | 022% |
Karina Pacaya Leandro | Manuela Ramos / CrediMUJER | 450 | Jul 27, 2009 | Jul 22, 2009 | 07 months | 040% |
Ana Virginia Leon Lacan | Asociacion ASDIR | 750 | Jul 27, 2009 | Jul 24, 2009 | 20 months | 011% |
Kobildjon Azimov | IMON International | 800 | Jul 27, 2009 | Jul 02, 2009 | 14 months | 014% |
Mostafa | Al Majmoua Lebanese Association for Development | 2000 | Aug 25, 2009 | Jun 15, 2009 | 14 months | 033% |
Iyabo Ezi | Women and Associations for Gain both Economic and Social (WAGES) | 1100 | Aug 24, 2009 | Aug 04, 2009 | 14 months | 007% |
Sakhavat Jafarov | Aqroinvest Credit Union | 2000 | Sep 27, 2009 | Oct 27, 2009 | 17 months | 000% |
Dul Soarphorn | CREDIT, a partner of World Relief | 400 | Sep 23, 2009 | Sep 17, 2009 | 14 months | 000% |
Juan Xxiii Group | Fundacion AgroCapital, a partner of ACDI/VOCA | 4900 | Oct 31, 2009 | Sep 28, 2009 | 07 months | 000% |
The Fruit Group | ADIM (Asociación Alternativa Para el Desarrollo Integral de las Mujeres) | 950 | Oct 31, 2009 | Oct 29, 2009 | 10 months | 000% |
Los Narditos Group | Fundación AgroCapital, a partner of ACDI/VOCA | 1875 | Nov xx, 2009 | Sep 18, 2009 | 08 months | 000% |
Averages | 910 | 11 months |
*As of Nov 2, 2009