bobjots : redux

I was initially made aware of this initiative by a post at Nyx’s blog. I find Kiva.org a fascinating project that I wished someone here thought about.

In their own words (reproduced from Kiva.org’s PDF flyer):

Kiva.org is a non-profit that is revolutionizing the fight against global poverty by enabling people to connect with and make personal loans—of as little as $25 – to low-income entrepreneurs in the developing world. Most of the poor in developing countries are self-employed entrepreneurs and a small loan to purchase business-related items such as sewing machines or livestock can empower them to earn their way out of poverty.

How It Works

• Kiva brings together lenders and worthy enterprises on the web.

  From Kenya to Ecuador, microfinance institutions (MFI) around the world go to Kiva.org and post photos and profiles of low income entrepreneurs in need of money for their businesses.

• Loans made easy and personal.

  Lenders go to Kiva.org and browse through profiles of low-income entrepreneurs—a dairy farmer in Kenya, a man who wants to open a shoe shop in Honduras, or a tailor in Bulgaria. Lenders can then loan as little as $25 to the entrepreneur of their choice via PayPal, a globally recognized online payment service.

• When a loan is funded by individual lenders, Kiva pools the money and transfers it to a Microfinance partner who handles distribution and collection of loan payments.

  Journal updates keep the lenders informed about the progress of the entrepreneur they sponsored. Loan repayments made by the entrepreneur over the course of about 6-18 months are sent back to Kiva by the MFI partner.

• Once loans are repaid, Kiva users can choose to withdraw their principal or re-loan to another entrepreneur. (80%+ of Kiva lenders choose to re-loan!)
  
  
• Kiva Shows You Where Your Money Goes

  Unlike donations which usually go into general funds, Kiva loans show you exactly WHO your money goes to, WHAT they are doing with it, and HOW you are making a difference. Best part? It’s a loan, not a donation. We invite you to make a small loan and make a big difference!

You can get more information about what Kiva.org does by visiting their website or downloading their PDF brochure.

Like I mentioned above, I wished a similiar type of project exists here. Even in Malaysia, we have a significant number of people who definitely could use this type of help. The microfinance sector in Malaysia is dominated by state owned or linked entities like Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia or Bank Pertanian Malaysia.

These are good initiatives but like all state linked entities and government linked corporations (GLC), there are reasons to doubt how egalitarian and wholistic these initiatives are. Dependence on the state for such initiatives also perpetuates the myth that only the Government is able and willing to help the marginalised. I also strongly believe that there needs to be community participation for such initiatives to be truly effective with long-lasting results.

Anyway, Kiva.org is a good way to get started. You only need to loan a minimum of approximately RM85.00 with your credit or debit card to help change someone’s life. More resourceful and entrepreneurial souls who are interested in getting a localised version of Kiva.org started can leave a comment here and I can help get you folks networked to further explore this idea.

References For Context

• Social Entrepreneurship
  A social entrepreneur is someone who recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create, and manage a venture to make social change.
• Microfinance
  Microfinance is a term for the practice of providing financial services, such as microcredit, microsavings or microinsurance to poor people.
• Social Enterprise
  Social enterprises are social mission driven organizations which trade in goods or services for a social purpose.
• Oikocredit
  Oikocredit is a cooperative established by the World Council of Churches to offer microfinance in developing countries.
• Microfinance in Malaysia : Time to rebuild
  An account of recent developments in the major microfinance institution in Malaysia, AIM, which is the oldest and one of the largest Grameen Bank replications in Asia.
• Current developments of microfinance in Malaysia and its issues
  An overview of the microfinance sector in Malaysia; focussing on the two main state linked providers; Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia and Bank Pertanian Malaysia

“Sell your possessions and give to those in need. This will store up treasure for you in heaven! And the purses of heaven never get old or develop holes. Your treasure will be safe; no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it.

- Luke 12:33 (NLT)