Have you heard about microlending or microcredit? Microcredit is the extension of small loans to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans. In developing countries especially, microcredit enables very poor people to engage in self-employment projects that generate income.
So basically it’s lending as low as $100 or $50 to the poor for opening a business to support their livelihood. Please note that it’s not a donation, you will get your money back, it’s a loan. So why not help someone, lending as small as $50 from your PayPal funds? Rather than your PayPal fund lying in your account for 30 days or more, within this time you could actually help some family in Uganda to start a business.
How to help
Kiva.org is the answer. Kiva allows you to search the database of poor entrepreneurs who are looking for small loans to start their business. You can search the database by region, business field, gender, and status of the project. And because of this, almost all (close to 100%) people who borrow the money actually pay back.
Kiva partners with existing microfinance institutions in different countries. These partners choose the entrepreneurs and posts their profile on Kiva. So the people on Kiva, are hardworking people who are handpicked by their local agencies.
PBS Frontline
Here is a PBS video about Kiva and how they are literally changing people’s lives.
www.kiva.org
