Kiva.org is a site which (from their description) "...lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you've sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back."
Kiva is not a MFI (microfinance institute), but rather a 501c3 non-profit which connects us to MFIs around the world thru the power of the internet. You may have heard of microfinancing or microcredit when the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Grameen Bank and Muhammed Yunus for their decades long ground breaking work with microcredit.
It's a pretty simple concept which Kiva does a great job of explaining on their site so I'll just let you guys discover it for yourselves, but don't blame me if you become a Kiva lending addict!
Many apparently do.Here is a video of the Kiva founders:CNN Heroes
And a forum for Kiva "fanatics" KivaFriends.org
My new favorite hobby is reading thru all the borrower's journals on Kiva of how this money has helped shape their lives and their communities. This is amazing stuff.
