Microlending is awesome!

[thedivahrrrself]

Originally Posted by laruss

I have been using the same $500 I invested almost 2 years ago. One loan in particular is memorable to me. I will loan anywhere between $25 and $200 depending on the loan. This one was a woman who needed $150 to buy pigs, it was her first loan and I lent her the whole amount, she has paid it all back.

I typically loan to women and tend to lend more to agriculture or food needs.

I encourage everyone to use Kiva.

Kiva asks for a donation with each loan to help with the costs, they have it set at 15%, I always lower mine to 5% so that I have more to invest in the people who need it. You can choose 0%, but I know that Kiva also has expenses.

I never donate to Kiva. I'm glad some people do so I can keep lending. I've only put in about $200, and I just keep relending over and over. I get paid back enough to make a new loan about once per month.

Lately, I've been loaning in Colombia, because my dream is eventually to wander into a business that I've loaned to. Prior to that, I was lending to Palestinians. Before that, I was lending for agriculture, wells and food in Africa.

I know some people that only lend to single mothers, some in the GLBT group who only lend to people they perceive to possibly be GLBT individuals, and some who have restrictions on the types of industries or products they will lend for (water wells, farming, hair dressers, etc).

I know some people who have taken advantage of the free $25 offer, and they are just waiting for that $25 to come back to lend again. It's nice that they let you use someone else's money to loan to someone you feel a connection to.